The Floating Farm in Rotterdam, a project launched to test new ways of producing food without tying dairy production to farmland, has entered another phase after a planned sale was called off. The farm's owners had put it up for sale following a dispute with the local environmental department over a newly fitted floor that the department said did not comply with regulations. The 28 Dutch MRI cows were removed, with plans to sell them and stop milk production.
Those plans have changed. The farm is not being sold, and the cows have been moved to several farms around 20 km away. Milk and other dairy production are continuing at the floating site, according to Peter van Wingerden, who developed the project with Minke van Wingerden. Milk is now brought to the farm by a regular dairy truck from a supplier about 20 km away, at roughly 1,500 litres per batch, twice a week. A stainless steel pipeline runs from the quay to the farm.
A floating platform with two production lines
The Floating Farm was the brainchild of Peter and Minke van Wingerden, who invested €4 million in the project. It opened in May 2019 in the Port of Rotterdam with on-site feeding, milking, slurry and dairy production facilities. The farm produced milk and dairy products for local consumers, who could buy them from vending machines at the site. Its visible herd and port location attracted hundreds of thousands of visitors from around the world.
The current arrangement separates livestock from processing. Peter van Wingerden said the farm has the lowest emissions possible because of its modern technology and system, but the rubber floor is German and has no certificate of compliance in the Netherlands. The cows are no longer housed on the platform; milk for processing is supplied from nearby farms and handled at the floating site.
Below the waterline, the structure now houses a vertical farm that Peter van Wingerden describes as a fully controlled, automated growing space. It has three layers with conveyor belts and combines grow-room and warehouse technology. Four crop types 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. The crops are used in tea, pesto, Parmigiano cheese, herb-infused salts and herb-infused whey. Because the unit sits below the waterline, it is cooled by the water.
Peter van Wingerden said the vertical farm is performing well, but the site faces a fixed deadline. The Floating Farm will have to leave the port in just over two years because the entire area is to become residential. He said this was not the vision the project began with, but that the operators are coping with the system and benefit from the short distance between the milk supplier and the floating site.