Staff reports 9:08 a.m.
Thursday, December 5, 2019 9:07 am

MILTON MILLS - Branch Hill Farm/the Carl Siemon Family Charitable Trust announced recently that Jared Kane of Milton Mills has been hired as the new Executive Director. He started the job on Nov 4.

"We are thrilled to have Jared Kane as our new Executive Director," said Cynthia Wyatt, who is soon to retire as Branch Hill Farm 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 80 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."