The floating dairy farm in the Port of Rotterdam has changed direction again. The platform, launched in 2019 to show that food can be produced sustainably without the traditional tie-up with land, was recently put up for sale after a disagreement with the local environmental department, which said a newly fitted floor did not comply with regulations. That sale is now off.
Under the earlier plan, the farm's 28 resident Dutch MRI cows had been taken off the platform, were to be sold and milk production was to stop. Instead, the animals have been moved to a few other farms around 20 km away, and a vertical salad growing enterprise occupies the basement of the floating structure.
Floor dispute behind the reversal
Peter van Wingerden, who founded the project with Minke van Wingerden, confirmed that production of milk and other dairy produce is continuing and that the vertical farm is performing well.
He attributed the regulatory problem to the flooring rather than to the farming system, saying the farm has the lowest emissions possible because of its modern technology and system, but that the rubber floor is German and holds no certificate of compliance in the Netherlands.
With no cows on board, raw milk now reaches the platform through a stainless steel pipeline running from the quay. According to van Wingerden, the regular dairy truck delivers milk from the dairy twice a week, at roughly 1,500 L per batch. He noted that the distance from the milk supplier is just 20 km, which keeps transport time short.
Salad, herbs and flowers below the waterline
The vertical unit is a fully controlled and automated grow space combining grow-room and warehouse technology, with three layers of crops carried on conveyor belts. It sits below the waterline of the floating structure, so it is cooled by the surrounding water.
Four crop groups are grown in the unit, each on its own cycle:
- Micro-greens, harvested every two weeks;
- Herbs, harvested every three weeks;
- Leafy greens, harvested every four weeks;
- Edible flowers, harvested every four to five weeks.
These crops are turned into tea and pesto, and are sold alongside the farm's Parmigiano cheese, herb-infused salts and herb-infused whey.
A two-year horizon at the port
The platform will have to leave the Port of Rotterdam in just over two years, because the entire area is due to become residential. Van Wingerden acknowledged that the current set-up differs from the original concept but said the operation is coping with the arrangement.
The Floating Farm was the brainchild of Peter and Minke van Wingerden, who invested €4 million in the project, equipping it with on-site feeding, milking, slurry and dairy production facilities. It opened in May 2019 in the port as a futuristic answer to producing food sustainably, and supplied milk and dairy produce to local consumers through vending machines on the site. The concept drew hundreds of thousands of curious visitors from around the world to see the cows at work.