Branch Hill Farm Hires Jared Kane as New Executive Director

Branch Hill Farm

Contact: Jared Kane, Executive Director

307 Applebee Rd, Milton Mills, NH 03852

603-473-2535

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Submission Date:  December 4, 2019

Branch Hill Farm Hires Jared Kane as New Executive Director

Branch Hill Farm/the Carl Siemon Family Charitable Trust is pleased to announce that Jared Kane of Milton Mills, NH has been hired as the new Executive Director. He started the job on November 4^th.

“We are thrilled to have Jared Kane as our new Executive Director,” said Cynthia Wyatt, who is soon to retire as Branch Hill Farm (BHF) Managing Trustee, but will stay on as Chair of the BHF Board of Directors. “For the last two years, Jared has generously donated his time and expertise to teach our apple tree grafting workshops, which have been extremely popular.  Last summer, when Jared presented his idea to plant a Heritage Orchard at Branch Hill Farm, I was very excited. The orchard would be a new direction for BHF while meshing superbly with our mission and educational outreach programs.  Jared has all the values and qualifications to be an excellent Executive Director for Branch Hill Farm.”

Kane is a New Hampshire native, with a BA in History from the University of New Hampshire. Although his work experience is primarily in the tech field, he dedicates much of his free time to preserving and identifying antique apple varieties on ancient trees in our region. Since moving to Milton Mills in 2013, Kane has been building up a cider specific apple orchard and currently grows over eighty varieties.  His natural hard cider has won international awards. 

 Kane also developed passions for conservation and outdoor recreation from a young age. He enjoys regular hunting and hiking trips in the Maine North Woods and has been fly fishing around the world. He lives in Milton Mills with his wife Ashley and baby daughter Kenna.

Kane is enthusiastic about his new position. “I’m beyond excited to have joined the team at Branch Hill Farm and to support the many great projects and efforts already in place. I look forward to learning from and collaborating with our partners to ensure the continued success of the Carl Siemon legacy in conservation, education, and community.” 

He added, “The Heritage Orchard at Branch Hill Farm will be my keystone project.   Not only will the orchard be a repository for long forgotten heritage apple varieties, local homestead apples in the Moose Mountains region, and new experimental wild stock, but we hope to lead by example in showing that holistic and sustainable practices can be utilized in an orchard setting.”

Kane concluded with an expression of appreciation for Cynthia Wyatt’s leadership at Branch Hill Farm. “For more than 25 years, Cynthia has been both an inspiration and constant in the community when it comes to conservation, stewardship, and sustainability.  Her dedication to creating greenways, conserving important natural resource areas, and the education of future generations in our region through both BHF and Moose Mountains Regional Greenways is unmatched.  It is my hope that over the coming years we continue to advance all of the great things Cynthia has accomplished.  It is a real privilege to partner with her as we move forward.”

Branch Hill Farm/the Carl Siemon Family Charitable Trust works to protect open space and working forests and to educate the public about sound forestry, conservation and agricultural practices. For more information about the BHF mission, upcoming events and the Regional Heritage Orchard project, see www.branchillfarm.org.