Hof Große-Kleimann

Introduction

The Große-Kleimann family farm in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, which has been managed by Jan Große-Kleimann since 2022, is committed to innovative agricultural concepts. When the farm was taken over, an agroforestry system (AFS) was established on 10 hectares of arable land. With the help of volunteers from the region, the family planted several hundred apple trees. They used old varieties that are only available in a few supermarkets. Wild service berries, walnuts, wild pears, and ten figs were also planted. The young agroforestry system is very promising and can serve as an inspiration to take the step towards agroforestry.

Related modules:

Module 8

Module 3

Name of the farmer/ entrepreneur or other initiative

Große-Kleimann Family Farm (Farm manager: Jan Große-Kleimann)

Year of establishment of the initiative

Takeover of the farm in 2022, family business for several generations

Location

Steinfurt, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany

Case description

Total area or number of animals

The farm consists of 220 hectares of arable land and 3500 fattening pigs in 5 locations.

Main agricultural activity and Multifunctional activities

In order of economic importance: Pig fattening, renewable energy production through photovoltaics, arable farming, renewable energy production through wind power, agroforestry.

Critical challenges of the farm/ the region

Critical challenges include high rental prices and increasing weather extremes, which can take a variety of forms (currently unusual humidity, drought in previous years, etc.).

CSA Activity

Reason for engaging in CSA/ Triggering moment for implementation

The use of agroforestry systems was triggered by three consecutive years of drought, which particularly affected the soil.

Description of the innovation

In response to recurrent droughts, the Große-Kleimann family has established an agroforestry system on their farm. The system covers 10 hectares in total and 0.6 hectares of forest strips.

It consists of 15 rows of trees, each 3 m wide, and 30 m wide strips of arable land.

The idea was born during a guided tour of Hans-Joachim Bannier’s Olderdissen orchard, where more than 350 varieties of apples are grown side by side without the use of pesticides.

Various trees were planted: 460 apple trees, 20 valuable trees (wild service berries, walnut, wild pear) and 10 figs. The following varieties of apples were used: Ludwigs Rosenapfel, Discovery, Jakob Fischer, Alkmene, Ribston Pepping, Holsteiner Cox, Carmijn de Sonnaville, Finkenwerder Herbstprinz, Boskoop.

Two-year-old, one-time grafted apple trees were used, which were grafted a second time on the plot in the spring of 2023 with the corresponding desired varieties.

Implementation Process of the innovation & used methods of innovation management

The agroforestry system was established in 2022 with the help of volunteers.

The first real apple harvest is expected in 2025/26.

Mr. Große-Kleimann: “You have to learn the hard way every now and then, but basically it’s going well!”

Todays Results of this implementation

The project has attracted considerable public and private interest.

There is an increased number of insects on the land (determined by agroforestry monitoring).

For the farm manager, the agroforestry system brings “a lot of joie de vivre”.

SWOT of the Case today

Advantages

Including climate change mitigation, biodiversity, increased biomass yield, water conservation, erosion control, risk diversification.

Disadvantages

Until trees bear fruit or wood can be marketed, the area does not generate income, a lot of work (e.g. due to the long distances involved in mulching and pruning fruit trees, as well as for protection against game, in particular roe deer), new work or knowledge to be acquired. In addition, agroforestry is still very unknown in the region, making it difficult to market at a higher price.

Opportunities

Pioneer status can have a positive impact on one’s own image and create opportunities for direct marketing of non-AFS products, the farm becomes more climate-resilient and sustainable, the alternative form of agriculture makes it attractive for employees/interns, for many people it is also more meaningful than conventional agriculture/livestock farming.

Risks

Lack of consumer appreciation (price) and system design errors (e.g. tree strips chosen too narrow)

Education/ Training of the decision makers/ leading persons

Mr. Große-Kleimann is a trained farmer and holds a bachelor’s and master’s degree in agricultural economics.

He attended a soil course on regenerative agriculture at Näser & Wenz.

He has acquired most of his knowledge of agroforestry systems himself, and has attended a couple of training courses.

Outlook/ Aims and Goals

The goal is to establish the apple system with stable yields and to successfully market the apples produced directly.

In the long term, agroforestry is to be established on all areas of the farm.

Lessons Learned/ Recommendations

The farm has received a lot of recognition and support, which has led to even more motivation. If you take the plunge and get over the initial hurdles, you can get a lot out of it.

It takes patience, but the effort and the money invested, which is not much compared to expensive machines, are definitely worth it.

It is important to get in touch with farms that have already gained experience with agroforestry systems. In Germany, for example, this can be done using the agroforestry map of DeFAF.

Result, Success & Risk Factors

Actual today’s situation

The implementation of the agroforestry system is going well, but it takes time. It will be another 3-5 years before the full impact of the trees is felt, but some effects on the soil, the landscape and the impact on the farm’s work management can already be seen. These include the aforementioned increase in insects and biodiversity in general, but also a boost to the farm’s image.

Mr. Grosse-Kleimann says, “It feels really good and like the right thing to do!”

Dependence of any kind of ongoing support/ subsidy?

On the Große-Kleimann farm, almost 2/3 of the original investment was funded by LEADER. This made it much easier, but they are not dependent on funding. The challenge, according to Mr. Große-Kleimann, is the financial gap between planting and the first monetary return. This should be better subsidized, so that every farm that wants to establish AFS can afford it, and not just farms that can cross-subsidize from other activities.

Dependence of specific regional/ personal aspects?

According to Mr. Große-Kleimann, it is very helpful that he and his wife go public with their farming activities and open the farm to the public. This attitude has generated a lot of ideas, support and motivation.

Being close to the center of a town with a population of just under 20,000 also helps. This simplifies communication and marketing. It also makes it easier to get people actively involved.

Applicability in other regions/ other situations

Anyone who enjoys growing fruit and has marketing opportunities can certainly adopt this system.

That is the beauty of agroforestry systems. It is incredibly easy to adapt them to one’s own farm, region, and given the marketing opportunities for the respective products. So, any farm can do agroforestry if they have the interest.

Project N. 2022-1-DE02-KA220-VET-000089615

Contact email: info@innocsa.eu

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