After around three years at the head of the Martha’s Vineyard Land Bank’s goat grazing operation, Island farmer Zachary Jesse is hanging up his hat as lead goat herder.

Mr. Jesse, who was hired in November of 2020, will remain an Island farmer, taking over as lessee of the Pilot Hill farmstead in Vineyard Haven, according to land bank executive director James Lengyel.

“It’s a real loss for the institution, he definitely upshifted our livestock operation,” Mr. Lengyel said, at a land bank commission meeting on Monday.

The land bank has already advertised for the job and received applications, Mr. Lengyel said, and current land bank staff will interview interested parties before making a recommendation to the commission.

Aquinnah commissioner Sarah Thulin voted to accept Mr. Jesse’s resignation “with regret.”

“We thank him profusely for all the fabulous work,” she said.