New tenant at Pierrepont Farm

The Countryside Regeneration Trust (CRT) is delighted to announce that the new tenant farmer at Pierrepont Farm in Surrey is Kayleigh Robb, an energetic and determined individual with a love of farming and the natural world. Kayleigh has taken on farm responsibilities from April 1st, 2024.

Kayleigh (pictured below) has spent the last eight years working in organic dairy farming, with the most recent three at several different farms to gain experience in sheep, beef, and arable agriculture too. She also has her own flock of sheep and a small beef herd that she has been managing alongside her freelance farm work.

When the opportunity arose to apply for the tenant farmer position at Pierrepont Farm, Kayleigh described it as an itch she needed to scratch. “I attended the Pierrepont Farm tenancy open day with no preconceived ideas and only a little knowledge of the CRT. However, while chatting to CRT staff about what they wanted to achieve at the farm, I quickly realised our principles aligned,” she said.

“My excitement started to grow and after having a good look around the fields and at the cows, I stood on the bridge at the bottom of the farm opposite the memorial sculpture to Jo Reader, and it just felt right.”

Kayleigh is already planning ways to balance her farming activities and the needs of nature at the 200-acre farm. She also has ideas for selling her produce to the local community, including the possibility installing a milk vending machine.

“I feel very lucky to be taking on Pierrepont Farm, but equally it’s a little daunting. Fortunately, I have been supported by my family and the CRT have also been a huge help so I’m 100 per cent ready to get stuck in,” she added.

The CRT’s head of estates Kerriann McLackland explained that it was Kayleigh's passion for regenerative farming that shone through the application process. “From her initial application to her interview, we could tell it was something that comes from the heart,” she revealed.

“In addition to significant farming experience working on a variety of farms, Kayleigh's people skills also made her stand out as the next tenant for Pierrepont Farm. Pierrepont is much loved by local people, as well as visitors, and it was essential that whoever takes on the farm wants to be a part of that community.”

Published: April 2024

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