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The Floating Farm is one of the latest attempts to think outside the box when it comes to adapting to climate change. Mussel farms or attempts to grow kelp and other sea vegetation might be expected, but not a three-story dairy operation.
The Floating Farm has been operational since 2019 and bills itself as the world’s floating dairy farm. It aims to have a closed loop of production, using its own waste and recycling.
The cows graze on hay and the rinds of oranges salvaged from supermarket juice machines in the port city. They drink collected rain water from the canopies which protect them from the weather. Robots are used to milk them and mop up their manure which is used as organic fertilizer.
The Floating Farm sells the milk, cheese and buttermilk produced by the cows in a small shop on dry land next to its harbor berth.
“Countries are more and more looking to be self-sufficient in one or another way, and of course climate change is a big thing, because a lot of countries, they suffer from flooding or dry period. So, when you have a floating farm, you are climate adaptive, so you can keep on producing fresh healthy food for the city,” says Minke van Wingerden, owner of the Floating Farm.
Van Wingerden believes putting farms on the water enables people to access fresh produce near to the cities they live in.
Van Wingerden says the cow’s welfare is closely monitored. “There are a lot of vets, they are coming and seeing how they are doing. But we see that they are doing very well, their fur is shiny, they are curious, they produce a lot of milk, and the quality of the milk is very good. So everything is going very well, and we are happy about that,” she says.
She believes the volume of visitors the farm attracts is a testament to the interest people have “not only in the agricultural side, but also in the innovation projects.”
This article was provided by The Associated Press.