Plans to sell the Floating Farm in the Port of Rotterdam have been set aside, with its 28 resident Dutch MRI cows moved to other holdings around 20 km away while a vertical salad-growing enterprise continues to operate in the basement of the floating structure.
The farm had recently been put up for sale after a disagreement with the local environmental department, which ruled that a newly fitted floor did not comply with regulations. At that point the cows were taken off the farm and were to be sold, and milk production was to stop.
That position has now changed. According to Peter van Wingerden, who developed the project with Minke van Wingerden, the production of milk and other dairy produce is continuing and the vertical farm is performing well.
Origins of the concept
The Floating Farm was the couple's idea, backed by a €4 million investment to create on-site feeding, milking, slurry handling and dairy production facilities. It opened in May 2019 in the Port of Rotterdam as a futuristic attempt to produce food sustainably without the traditional tie to land. During its operation the farm supplied milk and dairy products to local consumers through vending machines at the site, and attracted hundreds of thousands of curious visitors from around the world.
How the revised set-up works
In the current arrangement the farm is no longer supplied by its own on-site herd. A regular dairy truck brings milk to the farm about twice a week, roughly 1,500 litres per batch, from a supplier around 20 km away, which van Wingerden noted makes for a short transport time. The milk arrives through a stainless steel pipeline installed from the quay to the farm.
Van Wingerden said the farm has the lowest emissions possible because of its modern technology and system, but that the rubber floor is German-made and has no certificate of compliance in the Netherlands.
Vertical unit below the waterline
The vertical farm is a fully controlled and automated growing space with three layers served by conveyor belts, combining grow-room and warehouse technology. Four types of crops are grown: micro-greens harvested every two weeks, herbs every three weeks, leafy greens every four weeks and edible flowers every four to five weeks.
These crops are turned into tea and pesto, along with the farm's Parmigiano cheese and herb-infused salts and herb-infused whey. Sited below the waterline within the floating structure, the growing space is cooled by the surrounding water. "It is going really well," van Wingerden said.
A further move ahead
The operation faces another change of location: van Wingerden said the Floating Farm will have to leave the port in just over two years' time, as the entire area is to become residential.
"This is not the vision we initially started off with, but we are coping with this system," he said.