With a background in finance, biodynamic farming, and digital transformation, I work at the intersection of cooperative land stewardship, agricultural policy, and community-driven governance.
Our Farm
My wife and I are honored to have the privilege of becoming the new stewards of Ries-Hof, a family farm lovingly tended for many generations. For the past 40 years it has been run as a biodynamic farm with much love and care by my father-in-law — a tradition we are proud to continue and deepen.
We oversee the overall strategic management of the 80-hectare farm, which grows carrots and beetroot for Voelkel's organic juice production, alongside potatoes and grains. Day-to-day operations are in the very capable hands of a remarkable farm manager who completed her apprenticeship here and has worked the land for over a decade — no one knows Ries-Hof better.
Looking ahead, I am excited to develop our composting practice on the farm and to grow Ries-Hof into an incubator farm — a living, working rural community where many people can call the farm home and where new farmers can take root.
Visit ries-hof.de
Current Focus
Project Coordinator at Agrarsoziale Gesellschaft e.V. (ASG) since February 2026 — coordinating Germany's first comprehensive agricultural incubator network.
The average age of German farmers exceeds 55 years. A significant portion of farms need capable successors, yet less than 2% of German farms transfer outside families. Many career changers with agricultural training want to farm but cannot find their way into farm management — not for lack of motivation, but because of missing transition infrastructure.
Inspired by France's Espaces Test Agricole — a nationwide network of 80+ incubator farms where several hundred aspiring farm managers annually gain real entrepreneurial experience. In France, 50% of farm transitions now happen outside the family. Incubator farms provide land, infrastructure, mentoring, and markets so new agricultural businesses can be tested under real conditions.
Systematically defining, testing, and scaling the incubator approach across German regions. Partners include Netzwerk Flächensicherung, BioBoden Genossenschaft, and University of Hohenheim. Developing a connectable nationwide structure and generating insights for national generational renewal strategy.
National StrategyEstablishing two demonstration incubators: a small-scale vegetable farm where founders cultivate their own plots, and a large-scale organic arable farm offering long-term establishment perspectives. Partners: ZALF, Agronauten, regional farms.
Regional PilotsDeveloping peri-urban incubator models addressing unique urban agricultural challenges: land access, farmsteads, settlement pressure. A collaborative research project with Kulturland eG, Agronauten, and South Westphalia University of Applied Sciences.
Urban AgricultureThe EU Common Agricultural Policy from 2028 requires all member states to develop binding strategies for generational transition — including farm starts without family succession. Incubator approaches like FarmStarter and Ackerpreneurs fit exactly into this logic and can become building blocks of a coherent national strategy for Germany.
About
I am deeply interested in who owns what — and why it matters. My work spans commons, cooperative land stewardship, AI governance, and the policies that shape who gets to farm.
As Commercial Director of Kulturland-Genossenschaft, I helped grow the cooperative from 7 partner farms to over 50, membership from 250 to 3,000, and a tenfold increase in the balance sheet to nearly €20 million. Now, I'm coordinating Germany's first agricultural incubator network — creating infrastructure so new farmers can access land, mentoring, and business development.
I'm also the chairman of my local Green Party and serve on the steering committee of the European Access to Land Network, shaping policy that makes farmland accessible for the next generation.
Read: The Kulturland Cooperative as a Post-Neoliberal CommonsWhat I Do Now
Across policy, practice, and community governance, I work to open agriculture to new generations.
Coordinating Germany's first agricultural incubator network across three initiatives (Ackerpreneurs, FarmStarter Elbe Valley, FarmStarter Hamburg) — building transition infrastructure for non-family farm succession.
Incubator NetworkLeading the district Green Party's strategic and operational direction. Responsible for financial management, budgeting, and accounting oversight as part of the three-person leadership team.
Political LeadershipSupporting strategy and coordination among European organisations working to secure land for agroecological and community-based farming. Focused on policy frameworks and enabling non-family farm succession.
European PolicyCo-initiated this participatory youth knowledge book on property, commons, and solidarity economics — developed with readers aged 14–19. 152 pages with ~60 infographic spreads. Distributed via Coppenrath Verlag, Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung & Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung. Print launch 2027.
Youth EducationContributing legacy knowledge from eight years as the cooperative's financial leader and digital transformation architect. Previously served as Commercial Director and Head of Financial Planning.
Read: The Kulturland Cooperative as a Post-Neoliberal CommonsThe Journey
A non-linear path through universities, farms, cooperatives, and boardrooms — all connected by a thread of stewardship.
ASG · Germany
Coordinating national pilot to define, test, and scale incubator models across German regions.
Kulturland-Genossenschaft
Overseeing controlling, financial reporting, and strategic growth of the cooperative land trust.
Kulturland-Genossenschaft
Led digital transformation, built a proprietary crowdinvesting platform on Odoo, and implemented GTD workflows.
Sandbox
Board member of this global community of entrepreneurs, journalists, academics, and changemakers from 100+ countries. Led treasury and finance for the 2018 Global Summit in Kenya.
Kulturland & TEDxZurich
Built the cooperative's fundraising engine while working alongside TEDx speakers in Zurich.
Swiss farms · Demeter training
Four-year hands-on training across three Swiss farms. Focus on dairy cows and composting.
Zurich, Switzerland
Pioneered soil carbon offsets with Swiss organic farmers. Award-winning pilot project.
Education
Demeter School, Strickof/Rheinau — Swiss federal diploma in organic-dynamic agriculture
University of Nottingham
University of Pennsylvania — Summer School
University of Melbourne
Language studies in Chinese
Languages
Writing
I write about plants, commons, land stewardship, AI governance, and the ideas that connect them.
Upcoming
Künstliche Intelligenz als Menschheitsaufgabe — a four-part lecture series exploring AI as enabler and seducer, as tool and being, as mirror of ourselves. What did Rudolf Steiner foresee about this moment in human development?
Freie Schule Hitzacker, Hagener Weg · Hutkasse (pay what you wish)
Podcast
🎙️ I have a podcast — and I don't say a single word in it.
Deep Dives with Thomas Kliemt is 100% AI-generated — straight from my writing. No studio, no microphone, no editing. Just my thoughts on farming, commons, AI, and anthroposophy — in a format made for listening.
For everyone who'd rather hear my Substack essays on the commute than read them at a desk.
9 episodes · In German & English
Topics include AI workflows, cooperative law, land reform, IQ testing, biodynamic preparations, and more.
Speaking & Teaching
Talks, workshops, and consulting on sustainable farming, commons, composting, community building, fundraising, and blockchain.
Demeter School for Biodynamic Farming, Switzerland
Taught marketing to 4th-year students — online marketing, community-supported farms, crowdfunding, and practical IT tools for running a farm.
Publications
Writing at the intersection of soil science, land policy, and technology.
Info3 · Jan 2026 — Ein Essay über KI-Transformation in der Landwirtschaft und die Forderung zur inneren Entwicklung.
Contact
Whether you're interested in farm succession, cooperative land models, or just want to talk about plants — I'd love to hear from you.
