The Floating Farm in the Port of Rotterdam has called off a planned sale, according to owner Peter van Wingerden, after a dispute with the local environmental department over a newly fitted floor. The farm’s 28 Dutch MRI cows have been moved to several farms about 20km away, and milk and dairy production are continuing with milk brought to the floating structure by truck.
The project was opened in May 2019 by Peter and Minke van Wingerden, who invested €4 million in a facility intended to promote sustainable farming on a new scale without the traditional tie to land. It combined on-site feeding, milking, slurry handling and dairy production, and supplied milk and dairy products to local consumers through vending machines at the port. The farm attracted hundreds of thousands of visitors from around the world.
A revised operating model
The sale plan followed a fall-out with the local environmental department, which said a new floor fitted at the farm did not comply with regulations. The cows were taken off the farm and were set to be sold, and milk production was due to cease. That plan has now changed: the farm is not being sold, the cows remain at nearby farms, and a vertical salad-growing enterprise occupies the basement of the floating structure.
Van Wingerden said the farm has the lowest emissions possible because of its modern technology and system, but that the rubber floor is German-made and has no certificate of compliance in the Netherlands. He added that a stainless steel pipeline runs from the quay to the farm, and that a regular dairy truck brings milk from the dairy about twice a week, roughly 1,500 litres per batch. The supplier is about 20km away, which he said keeps transport time short.
Vertical crops below the waterline
The vertical farm is a fully controlled, automated growing space with three layers and 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.
According to Van Wingerden, the crops are turned into tea, pesto, herb-infused salts and herb-infused whey, alongside the farm’s Parmigiano cheese. The vertical unit sits below the waterline in the floating structure, so it is cooled by the water. He said the vertical farm is performing well.
Port exit ahead
The operation still faces another change. 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 this was not the vision the founders started with, but that the farm is coping with the system.