The Floating Farm in the Port of Rotterdam has changed direction again. The floating dairy is no longer being sold, its cows have been moved to farms nearby, and milk production is continuing with milk brought in from those farms, co-founder Peter van Wingerden has confirmed.
The structure, developed by Peter and Minke van Wingerden on a €4 million investment, now pairs a dairy operation supplied from outside with a vertical vegetable enterprise in its basement.
A showcase dairy without its own herd
The farm opened in May 2019 in the port as a futuristic answer to producing food sustainably without the traditional tie to land. Onboard feeding, milking, slurry handling and dairy production facilities supported 28 Dutch MRI cows, and the milk was turned into dairy products that local consumers bought from vending machines at the site. The concept drew hundreds of thousands of curious visitors from around the world.
Dispute over a new floor
The owners recently put the farm up for sale after a fall-out with the local environmental department, which ruled that a newly fitted floor did not comply with regulations. The cows were taken off the farm and were due to be sold, and milk production was to stop.
Van Wingerden said the rubber floor is German and has no certificate of compliance in the Netherlands. He also maintained that the farm has the lowest emissions possible because of its modern technology and system.
Milk trucked in from 20 km away
Under the current arrangement the cows are held on a few farms about 20 km away, and a regular dairy truck delivers roughly 1,500 litres of milk per batch, twice a week. A stainless steel pipeline installed from the quay to the farm carries the milk, and the short distance keeps transport time brief. Dairy production has continued, he said.
Three layers of crops below the waterline
The vertical unit is a fully controlled, automated growing space with three layers on conveyor belts, combining grow-room and warehouse technology. 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 crops are made into tea and pesto and sold alongside Parmigiano cheese, herb-infused salts and herb-infused whey.
The growing space sits below the waterline of the floating structure, so it is cooled by the water. Van Wingerden said the vertical farm was performing well.
Two years left in the port
The farm will have to leave the port in just over two years, because the whole area is to become residential. Van Wingerden said the current setup was not the vision the project started with, but that the operators were coping with the system.