Inspired by the struggles facing New Yorkers attempting to access fresh produce and dairy products after Hurricane Sandy ravaged the city in 2012, a team of Dutch property developers at Beladon, along with corporate partners like Cargil and Phillips, have assembled plans for the Floating Farm.
It’s part of a movement dubbed Transfarmation. The Floating Farm’s roughly 8,000 square-foot, multilevel structure will have 40 cows producing an estimated 211 gallons of milk each day.
The underlying thought is that by anchoring close to large urban areas without absorbing precious real estate, the farms can help provide city dwellers with access to fresh, healthy food not subject to traditional supply chain issues.
The bottom level of the structure will house machinery for processing and packaging the products being produced. The cows, and the robots that will milk them, will reside on the second level. The third floor will be used to grow clover and other vegetation needed to feed the cows. Floating nearby the city will also allow for utilizing food waste as an additional source of animal feed.
The designers state that their buildings can be adapted to changes in the climate and even be hurricane-resistant. Next steps for the company include launching the first such farm outside of Rotterdam, The Netherlands later this year.
Beladon is also looking at ways to design floating chicken farms and vertical greenhouses.