A check-in conversation with Thomas Kliemt, a true serial entrepreneur in regenerative farming systems and previously part of Kulturland, always busy with the big topics in agriculture and never afraid to take them on head first. We catch up on what he has been working on: access to land in Germany, how Kulturland– the organization he has been involved with for the last 8 years- has been growing, and why they are suddenly, after 10 years in the making, an overnight success. In the first 6 months of 2025, they accelerated their fundraising by 100%, raising the same €2.5m they raised in all of 2024.
Then we shift to the next piece of the puzzle: once you enable access to land, transition it into the commons as an anti-speculation measure, and remove the huge debt burden new farmers face, who is actually going to farm this land?
That’s what Thomas’ next venture is working to solve, inspired by a highly successful French model. Over the last 20 years, this approach has trained hundreds of farmers in running their businesses through incubator farms: new farmers work their own land for 3 years, run their enterprises, and receive a salary. Afterward, they are ready to take over a farm elsewhere and, remarkably, over 75% of them do. Many of the rest join other farms as employees. This is an incredibly high success rate for any incubator, and the model has already scaled to Belgium, Spain, and Finland. Now Thomas is bringing it to Germany, and the timing seems perfect.
He has already raised several million in government funding, with different regions competing to host these incubator farms. This could become the launchpad for a much stronger regenerative farming movement. We talk about the huge impact successful regenerative farms can have on their regions, the importance of community, and why this mission is so deeply personal for Thomas.
WHAT THOMAS HAS BEEN WORKING ON IN TERMS OF ACCESS TO LAND AND LAND TENURE
The future of farming hinges on solving two critical challenges: affordable access to land and proper training for new farmers. Thomas, now on his fourth appearance on the podcast, has dedicated the past decade to addressing these foundational agricultural issues.
Thomas has dedicated the last eight years to building the Kulturland cooperative. This organisation addresses the critical barrier of land access for new farmers by pooling community capital to purchase land, holding it in commons, and providing secure, long-term tenure to organic farms.
“We enabled community capital to be pooled and to buy land for farms, for organic farms, for young people who want to become farmers and don’t have the capital to buy land, and that project has flourished in the last eight years.” Thomas Kliemt
KULTURLAND IS TAKING OFF THIS YEAR
Through his work with Kulturland Cooperative, Thomas has helped transform how farmland changes hands in Germany. By pooling community capital, the cooperative has raised over €20 million, securing 50 organic farms for a new generation of farmers who lack the financial resources to purchase increasingly expensive agricultural land. What makes this approach particularly powerful is how it creates dignified retirement pathways for aging farmers without successors. Rather than selling to the highest bidder who might dismantle the farm ecosystem they’ve nurtured for decades, these farmers accept comfortable retirement packages at below-market rates, ensuring their life’s work continues.
Kulturland is experiencing significant growth because it has become a trusted institution. Farms with strong community support now actively seek to partner with the cooperative, as its model ensures the land will be protected as a commons for generations to come, which resonates deeply with people.
“The cooperative has become a trusted institution where the land that is being bought by the cooperative is going to be kept as a commons for generations to come. And that’s why these farms and people around these farms are interested in working with Kulturland more, I think.” Thomas Kliemt
TRAINING THE NEXT GENERATION OF FARMERS IS THE NEXT PIECE OF THE PUZZLE
But land access alone wasn’t enough. Thomas discovered that even with affordable land, new farmers often struggled when suddenly responsible for complex farm operations. This led him to his newest venture—bringing the successful French incubator farm model to Germany. This approach, which has achieved a remarkable 75% success rate in France over twenty years, allows aspiring farmers to run their own enterprises for three years while receiving mentoring, business training, and a living stipend. With nearly €3 million in government funding secured, Thomas will establish 8-10 incubator farms across Germany, creating crucial “on-ramps” for the next generation of regenerative farmers.
Despite solving the land access issue, Thomas encountered a new problem: even with affordable land, new entrants were overwhelmed by the capital intensity and complexity of running a farm. This realisation showed that securing land is only half the solution; prospective farmers also need hands-on training and a supported on-ramp.
”The people who are new entrants into farming, who didn’t grow up on a farm, and they might do a farming education; their heart and soul are burning for this. They really want to do that. But then the challenge to then take over a farm that’s a hundred hectares is just overwhelming… We had a whole bunch of cases where we were not able to ensure a farmsuccession. That was very disheartening to me.” Thomas Kliemt
THIS IS SO PERSONAL FOR THOMAS
The ripple effects extend far beyond individual farms. These initiatives help regenerate rural communities, attracting families back to countryside areas and creating vibrant local food systems. In regions facing economic challenges and political extremism, successful community-supported farms serve as anchors for regional revitalization.
This work is deeply personal for Thomas because his own path to becoming a farmer was blocked by the prohibitive cost of land and machinery. This frustration became acute when he witnessed the same barrier defeat other enthusiastic new entrants and saw the personal struggle to find a successor for his father-in-law’s farm, proving that solving land access alone wasn’t enough.
“I think it’s just so personal to me that I wasn’t able to take over a farm. And then I thought that I would be able to do that within Kulturland… and I had to realise. It was also very painful. And again, it’s very personal because my father-in-law… he is a farmer.” Thomas Kliemt
OTHER POINTS DISCUSSED
Koen and Thomas also talked about:
- Pension models for retiring farmers
- Land price disparities (France vs. Germany)
- Rural community development impacts
LINKS:
LINKED INTERVIEWS:
- The role of the crowd in the transition finance for farmers
- Thomas Rippel, checking in on land ownership, stable coins, pensions for farmers and city folks
- Thomas Rippel, using a blockchain to help Farmland Stewardship Organisations grow
- Wouter Veer – Trying to fix private land ownership, the root cause of all our issues
- Podcast related to ownership
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The above references an opinion and is for information and educational purposes only. It is not intended to be investment advice. Seek a duly licensed professional for investment advice.