The floating dairy farm in the Port of Rotterdam, a project launched to show that milk can be produced on water rather than land, has changed direction again. Plans to sell the structure have been dropped, the herd has been moved to farms nearby, and a vertical crop-growing enterprise now occupies the space below the waterline, according to co-founder Peter van Wingerden.
Sale abandoned after a flooring dispute
The farm was the idea of Peter and Minke van Wingerden, who invested €4 million to build a floating platform with its own 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 requirement for land.
Earlier, the owners put the farm up for sale following a disagreement with the local environmental department, which held that a newly fitted floor did not comply with regulations. At that stage the 28 resident Dutch MRI cows had been taken off the structure and were to be sold, and milk production was to cease.
Van Wingerden said the farm's modern technology and systems give it the lowest emissions possible, but the rubber floor was sourced in Germany and has no certificate of compliance in the Netherlands.
Milk still sold, but sourced 20km away
Under the revised arrangement the cows have been transported to a few different farms about 20km from the port, and the production of milk and other dairy produce is continuing. A stainless steel pipeline runs from the quay to the farm, and a regular dairy truck brings milk from the dairy twice a week, roughly 1,500 litres per batch. Van Wingerden described the distance from the supplier as short enough to keep transport time very brief.
While the cows were on board, the farm produced milk and in turn dairy products that local consumers could buy from vending machines at the site. The concept proved popular, with hundreds of thousands of curious visitors travelling from around the world to see the cows at work in the port.
Greens grown below the waterline
The floating structure now also houses a fully controlled and automated grow space with three layers and conveyor belts, combining grow-room and warehouse technology. Because the unit sits below the waterline, it is cooled by the surrounding water. Van Wingerden said four types of crops are grown there, on staggered cycles:
- 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, alongside the farm's Parmigiano cheese, herb-infused salts and herb-infused whey. Van Wingerden said the vertical farm, which sits in the current floating structure, is performing well.
Just over two years left at the quay
The Floating Farm will have to leave the port in just over two years' time, because the entire area is due to become residential. Van Wingerden said the current setup is not the vision the project started with, but that the operators are coping with the system as it stands.