The Floating Farm in Rotterdam, a platform opened in 2019 to produce food without tying dairy farming to land, is no longer being sold, according to co-founder Peter van Wingerden. The farm's 28 Dutch MRI cows have been moved to several farms about 20 kilometres away, while milk and dairy production continue with milk brought in from a nearby supplier.
The decision reverses an earlier plan. The owners had put the farm up for sale after the local environmental department said a newly fitted floor did not comply with regulations. The cows had been taken off the platform and were going to be sold, and milk production was to cease. Van Wingerden has now confirmed that the farm is not being sold and that the animals are on other farms nearby.
He said the farm has the lowest emissions possible because of its modern technology and system, but that the rubber floor is German and has no certificate of compliance in the Netherlands. A stainless steel pipeline runs from the quay to the farm. Milk is brought to the site by regular dairy truck about twice a week in batches of around 1,500 litres, from a supplier 20 kilometres away, he said, adding that the transport time is short.
Vertical unit below the waterline
The floating structure also contains a vertical crop unit in its basement, below the waterline, where it is cooled by the water. Van Wingerden described it as a fully controlled and automated growing space with three layers and conveyor belts, combining 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 to make tea, pesto, herb-infused salts and herb-infused whey, alongside Parmigiano cheese, according to van Wingerden. He said the vertical farm was performing well.
The project was the idea of Peter and Minke van Wingerden, who invested €4 million in the farm. It opened in May 2019 in the Port of Rotterdam with on-site feeding, milking, slurry and dairy production facilities. It produced milk and dairy products for local consumers, who could buy them from vending machines at the farm, and attracted hundreds of thousands of visitors from around the world.
Its longer-term location is uncertain. Van Wingerden said the Floating Farm will have to leave the port in just over two years because the entire area will become residential. He said the current arrangement was not the vision the project began with, but that the team was coping with the system.