The floating dairy farm in the Netherlands has changed course again, with its owners abandoning a planned sale and moving the resident herd to nearby farms instead, after a dispute with the local environmental department over a floor installation.
The farm, opened in May 2019 in the Port of Rotterdam, was designed by Peter and Minke van Wingerden as a way to produce food sustainably on a new scale without the traditional requirement for land. The couple invested €4 million in the project, which brought feeding, milking, slurry handling and dairy production together on a floating structure.
Sale halted and cows relocated
The farm was recently put up for sale following the disagreement with the environmental department, which said a newly fitted floor did not comply with regulations. At that point the 28 Dutch MRI cows had been removed from the site, were to be sold, and milk production was set to stop.
That plan has not been carried through. According to Peter van Wingerden, the farm is no longer being sold, and the cows have been moved to a number of other farms around 20 km away. Milk and other dairy production are continuing.
Van Wingerden said the farm has the lowest possible emissions because of its modern technology and system, but the rubber floor is German-made and has no certificate of compliance in the Netherlands. A stainless steel pipeline runs from the quay to the farm, and a regular dairy truck delivers milk from the dairy twice a week, roughly 1,500 L per batch. The short distance between the milk supplier and the farm, about 20 km, keeps transport time brief, he added.
Vertical growing unit below the waterline
A vertical salad growing enterprise occupies the basement of the floating structure. The unit is a fully controlled, automated grow space arranged in three layers with conveyor belts, combining grow-room and warehouse technology.
Four types of crops are grown there. Micro-greens are harvested every two weeks, herbs every three weeks, leafy greens every four weeks, and edible flowers every four to five weeks. The produce is turned into tea and pesto, alongside Parmigiano cheese, herb-infused salts and herb-infused whey.
Because the vertical farm sits below the waterline of the floating structure, it is cooled by the water. Van Wingerden said it is performing well.
Visitor draw and a looming move
During its operation in the port, the farm produced milk and dairy products for local consumers, who could buy them from vending machines on site. The concept drew hundreds of thousands of curious visitors from around the world to see the cows at work.
The operation will not stay in its current location indefinitely. Van Wingerden said the Floating Farm will have to leave the port in just over two years because the entire area is slated to become residential. He described the current arrangement as different from the vision the project began with, but said the team is coping with the system.