The Floating Farm in the Port of Rotterdam is continuing dairy production under a revised operating model after a dispute over a newly fitted floor led its owners to put the facility up for sale. The farm’s 28 Dutch MRI cows were removed and were due to be sold, and milk production was set to stop.
The sale is no longer going ahead. The cows have been moved to several farms about 20 km away, and a vertical salad-growing enterprise now occupies the basement of the floating structure. Peter van Wingerden, one of the farm’s founders, confirmed that milk and other dairy production was continuing and that the vertical farm was performing well.
Milk delivered from nearby farms
Van Wingerden said the cows had been transported to a few different farms near the Floating Farm. He said the farm had the lowest emissions possible because of its modern technology and system, but that its rubber floor was German-made and had no certificate of compliance in the Netherlands. A stainless steel pipeline runs from the quay to the farm. According to van Wingerden, a regular dairy truck brings milk from the supplier twice a week, at about 1,500 litres per batch, and the 20 km distance from the milk supplier gives a short transport time.
Crops grown below the waterline
The vertical farm is a fully controlled, automated growing space with three layers and conveyor belts, combining grow-room and warehouse technology. Four types of crops are grown: microgreens harvested every two weeks, herbs every three weeks, leafy greens every four weeks and edible flowers every four to five weeks. Van Wingerden said the products are turned into tea, pesto, Parmigiano cheese, herb-infused salts and herb-infused whey. The unit sits below the waterline of the floating farm and is cooled by the water.
Port departure ahead
The Floating Farm was the idea of Peter and Minke van Wingerden, who invested €4 million in the project, including on-site feeding, milking, slurry and dairy production facilities. It opened in May 2019 as a futuristic way to produce food sustainably without the traditional link to land, and sold milk and dairy products to local consumers through vending machines. It attracted hundreds of thousands of visitors from around the world.
According to Peter van Wingerden, the farm will have to leave the port in just over two years because the entire area is to become residential. He said the current arrangement was not the vision with which the project started, but that the operation was coping with the system.