At 6 a.m. sharp, we arrived at Royal Floraholland. Royal Floraholland is the world’s largest international trade platform for flora. It is also a cooperative between the different growers of the flowers/plants. Their main goal in doing this was the consolidation of their different offerings onto one platform.

A cooperative, as defined by the International Cooperative Alliance, is a “people-centered enterprise owned, controlled and run by and for their members to realize their common economic, social, and cultural needs and aspirations”. This cooperative begins at 6 am and sells flowers 24 hours a day. Cooperatives are also common in America, with many farmers belonging to cooperatives to maximize profits. However, outside of the agricultural context, cooperatives are rare because they don’t usually receive loans.

Thanks to improvements in the structure of the auctions, auctions’ used to be in person, but now are in person. This is optimal for buyers as they no longer need to arrive to the auction house at 4 am from other countries and can now just bid from home. This saves resources and time for buyers. The target buyer at Floraholland is usually distributors of flowers.

We also visited De Tulperij Tulip Farm. It is a family owned farm of four generations (~100 years). It is located roughly 40 minutes outside Amsterdam on soil full of sand. The land self-irrigates due to water being just under ground level (~63 cm below the surface). Because of this, both freshwater and labor are saved. These factors also create the optimal environment for tulip bulbs to grow.

This farm focuses on the bulbs of the flowers, which take up to 5 years to cultivate. At this specific farm, tulips that will be exported to America or Canada because of the sandy soil. Tulips that are grown in clay in Holland will be sold within the EU. The flower stems themselves are not sold by this farm and are instead sold to other companies for resale. Unlike the flower auction, direct sale to consumers is prioritized.

De Tulperij Tulip Farm also grows other types of flowers, such as hyacinths. Like many other tulip farms, they implement crop rotation. Specific plants take specific nutrients from the soil. Crop rotation allows the soil to rest and regain the nutrients lost by one plant by growing another.