The world's first floating farm in the Dutch city of Rotterdam supports self-sustainability and recycling in agriculture and livestock.
The 1 square meter floating farm, built in the Merwehaven canal in 200 and put into operation in May 2018, stands out as an important solution for the Dutch who are short of land.
Minke Van Wingerden, one of the founders of the farm, said that the facility is operating at full capacity with about 40 cows and that they get 20 to 25 liters of milk per day from each cow.
Milk, yogurt, butter and cheese are some of the dairy products that this farm offers to customers in its shop, but also on the shelves of other shops in Rotterdam. The farm also produces and sells organic fertilizers.
The fact that the farm is located on the water offers benefits to farmers due to its proximity to the city center, and can also serve as a livestock model for a future that is increasingly uncertain due to climate change.
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All the waste collected from nearby restaurants and bakeries and the feed collected in Rotterdam is used to feed the cows, while Van Wingerden said the collected food waste makes up about 60 percent of the cows' feed.
Van Wingerden also said that they collect rainwater on the roof of the farm, which is used as drinking water for the cows. Right next to the floating farm is a floating solar panel. The energy obtained from this panel significantly meets the needs of the farm.
Noting that the work on the floating farm is largely automated and that the cows are milked and cleaned by automatic robots, Van Wingerden said that the cows themselves go to the milking ward, where the robots pump the milk and send it for further processing.
Van Wingerden also stated that dry manure is obtained by separating cow dung from urea using a scrubber engine.
"Next to this floating farm, we will build a new facility where a vertical system of cultivation of different types of vegetables will be implemented. The goal is to grow multiple vegetables and herbs in a multi-layered and vertical manner without taking up a large area of land," said Van Wingerden.
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Expressing his satisfaction with the fact that the floating farm is known in the world, Van Wingerden emphasized that similar projects can be implemented throughout the Netherlands and beyond.
The consequences of climate change threaten food security in the Netherlands, where a significant part of its territory is below sea level and there is a lack of agricultural land./ATSH/
