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.
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.
Three pilots feeding into one national model for non-family farm succession.
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.
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
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.
New steward of a multigenerational family farm, growing carrots and beetroot for Völkel's organic juice production alongside potatoes and grains. Developing composting practices and building Ries-Hof into an incubator farm.
Biodynamic FarmingCoordinating 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 & Ries-Hof
Coordinating Germany's first agricultural incubator network while taking over stewardship of an 80 ha biodynamic farm.
Fundraising → Head of Finance & Digital Transformation → Commercial Director
Grew the cooperative from 7 to 50+ partner farms, 250 to 3,000 members, and a tenfold balance sheet increase to €20M. Built a crowdinvesting platform on Odoo, led digital transformation, and oversaw financial reporting.
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.
TEDxZurich
Worked alongside TEDx speakers in Zurich, supporting the event programme.
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.
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.
Upcoming
Ist die Entstehung großer Sprachmodelle (KI) das kopernikanische Trauma unserer Zeit – der Moment, in dem der menschliche Geist seinen selbstverständlichen Sonderplatz verliert, so wie einst die Erde aus dem Mittelpunkt des Universums gerückt wurde?
In den ersten zwei Abenden erkundet Thomas Kliemt, was KI technisch ist, was sie von menschlicher Seelentätigkeit unterscheidet – und warum Rudolf Steiners Diagnose von 1919 über die vier gesellschaftlichen Strömungen, die den Menschen einer rein maschinellen Weltsicht ausliefern, wie eine Beschreibung unserer Gegenwart klingt.
Dabei wird er mehrere KI-Anwendungen live vorführen, die so mächtig sind, dass sie vor kurzem kaum jemand für das Jahr 2026 für möglich gehalten hätte. Steiners Grundhaltung bleibt dabei der Leitfaden: nicht Ablehnung, sondern bewusste Gestaltung – denn nicht das Was zählt, das kommt sicher, sondern das Wie. Wer diese Frage ernst nimmt, braucht geistige Gemeinschaft – Menschen, die gemeinsam wach bleiben, sich weder von der Faszination mitreißen noch in Ablehnung flüchten lassen.
Read the article on Substack
Freie Schule Hitzacker, Hagener Weg · Hutkasse (pay what you wish)
Podcast
My Substack essays on farming, commons, AI, and anthroposophy — in audio format, made for listening on the go. Available in German and English.
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.
Appearance on the popular SRF talk show “Aeschbacher” — explaining the sauerkraut juice innovation and how farms can become carbon sinks.
Watch on SRF PlayDemeter 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.
Press & Media
From Nature and the American Chemical Society to Swiss National Television and Germany's leading dailies.
Won 1st place and the Audience Award at the international Falling Walls Lab, presenting the use of sauerkraut juice and biochar to transform cow manure into climate-positive fertilizer. Invited to present at the main Falling Walls Conference to 600+ decision makers.
Coverage of the Green Party preparing for the election campaign — Kreismitgliederversammlung and Staudte’s critique of the federal agriculture minister.
Read article NewspaperArticle about leadership changes in the Green Party district board in Lüchow-Dannenberg.
Read article NewspaperIn-depth article about Lüchow-Dannenberg as an AfD stronghold — discussing party membership trends and political landscape.
Read article NewspaperArticle about Thomas’s appointment as KV-Sprecher (district chairman) of the Green Party.
Read article OnlineFeature article about Thomas and Kulturland’s innovative crowd-financing model for farmland.
Read article NewspaperProfile in the EJZ series “Na DAN(N)” about Thomas’s move to Hitzacker and his secondhand-only philosophy.
Read article PodcastThree guest appearances with Koen van Seijen on land ownership, stable coins, and crowd capital for farmer transitions.
Listen to episode NewspaperCoverage of the Luzernenhof crowd-investing campaign by Kulturland Genossenschaft — raising over €1M.
Read article NewspaperSwitzerland’s leading daily on using sauerkraut juice to save 44,000 tons of nitrogen fertilizer annually. Also in Berner Zeitung & Basler Zeitung.
Read article TVExplaining the sauerkraut juice innovation and how farms can become carbon sinks.
Watch episode Scientific PressInternational coverage by the American Chemical Society on the Falling Walls Lab innovations.
Read article NewspaperBerlin’s leading daily covers the Falling Walls Lab 2012 winners.
Read articleAlso featured in: Süddeutsche Zeitung, Blick, Finanz und Wirtschaft, Berner Zeitung, Basler Zeitung, Watson.ch, Badische Bauernzeitung, Jungfrau Zeitung, Radical.es, Tierwelt, Agrola, Beiträge (Biodynamic Journal), info3, FAIReconomics, Waschbär Magazin, Mazda Magazine, Ethos, SWR Radio, SRF Podcast “Die Genderfalle”, and 10+ letters to the editor in the Elbe-Jeetzel-Zeitung.
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.
