The Floating Farm in the Port of Rotterdam is being reshaped rather than sold, after a dispute over flooring compliance led its owners to move the dairy herd and rethink how milk is supplied to the floating complex.
The farm was originally developed by Peter and Minke van Wingerden with a €4 million investment. It opened in May 2019 as a way to produce food sustainably without relying on traditional farmland. It housed 28 Dutch MRI cows and combined on-site feeding, milking, slurry handling and dairy production. Milk and dairy products were sold to local consumers through vending machines at the farm, and the project attracted hundreds of thousands of visitors from around the world.
Its operating model ran into difficulty when the local environmental department ruled that a newly fitted floor did not comply with regulations. The owners put the farm up for sale, the 28 cows were removed and plans were made to sell the animals and stop milk production.
That direction has since changed. According to Peter van Wingerden, the farm is no longer being sold. The cows have been moved to several farms about 20km away, and milk is now brought to the floating farm by a regular dairy truck twice a week, at roughly 1,500 litres per batch. Van Wingerden said the distance from the milk supplier is short, keeping transport time low.
He also defended the farm's environmental performance, saying its modern technology and systems give it the lowest possible emissions. The compliance problem, he said, relates specifically to the rubber floor, which is German-made and has no compliance certificate in the Netherlands. He added that a stainless steel pipeline runs from the quay to the farm.
Vertical crops take a larger role
The floating structure now also houses a vertical salad-growing enterprise in its basement. The unit is a fully controlled, automated growing space with three layers and conveyor belts, combining grow-room and warehouse technology. It produces four crop types on different cycles: microgreens harvested every two weeks, herbs every three weeks, leafy greens every four weeks and edible flowers every four to five weeks.
Those crops are used to make tea, pesto, herb-infused salts and herb-infused whey, alongside the farm's Parmigiano cheese. The vertical farm sits below the waterline, so it is cooled by the surrounding water. Van Wingerden said it is performing well.
The floating farm's long-term location is also uncertain. Van Wingerden said it will have to leave the port in just over two years because the entire area is set to become residential. He acknowledged that this is not the vision the project began with, but said the operators are adapting to the current system.
According to van Wingerden, milk and other dairy production are continuing while the vertical crop unit operates on the same floating platform. The model has changed from an on-board dairy herd to a combination of milk sourced from nearby farms and controlled-environment horticulture, with the port site remaining temporary.