RespectFarms’ Schipluiden site, located near The Hague and Rotterdam, will begin operating on Friday, 5 June 2026, and marks the culmination of “years of development, collaboration and debate.”
Marking a world first for cultivated meat production, the facility has been installed on a working dairy farm.
The firm said that Schipluiden explores a decentralised, farm-integrated model for cultivated meat production, rather than relying exclusively on large, centralised facilities.
“We’re building a model where farmers remain at the centre of food production, not replaced by factories,” said Ira van Eelen, co-founder of RespectFarms.
“This project is about exploring how farmers can participate in and help shape the future of cultivated meat.”
Developed in collaboration with dairy farmer Corné van Leeuwen and ecosystem partners, the initiative will investigate how cultivated meat production could become an additional business model for farms, while keeping farmers at the centre of future food production.
The site will also function as an Experience Centre, where farmers, policymakers, researchers, students and citizens can engage directly with the technology and the broader questions surrounding future food production.
“RespectFarms brings a global challenge back to farm scale,” added Ralf Becks, co-founder of RespectFarms. “And once it works, we can scale it out to create impact internationally.”
