BOWDOINHAM — Sean Hagan grew up in San Francisco, a city kid with no interest in agriculture who headed off to college to study international relations and art.
Three months on a Hawaiian farm after graduation changed everything.
In February, he bought 160 acres with four other farmers on Browns Point Road, down a long mud-seasoned driveway dotted with greenhouses.
On social media, Hagan’s the Left Field Farmer and in notes to customers, like one from last summer, he mixes dirt with philosophy with a wink:
“Summer squash is right around the corner . . . I picked a handful yesterday for a taste test. Tastes like a thunderstorm at dusk and grassy knees. That’s just my opinion, though.”
Hagan, 36, started Left Field Farm on then-leased land in 2012, the same year he moved from California to Maine to farm.
Growing up, farming hadn’t called at all, and he hadn’t expected it to.
“Honestly, I was a little lost after college and didn’t know what I wanted to do,” Hagan said.
A friend suggested volunteering through the WWOOF program, World Wide Opportunities On Organic Farms, and he landed on a small Maui fruit and vegetable farm.
“It just ended up being one of the most beautiful places I’d experienced,” he said. “I think coming out of college in a major that’s very theoretical-based, I became really attracted to the tangible aspects of farming: Grow this thing, it goes to somebody. It had a positive impact that was easy to measure.”
He spent five years on a nonprofit farm in Sacramento after that, then spent a year on Salt Spring Island in British Columbia.
The experiences left him wanting his own place.
He had family in southern Maine and had visited plenty. If he wanted to work outside, Maine would be a great place to do that.
“In the end, it was just kind of a gut thing,” Hagan said.
Eight of the 160 acres are his. Hagan spent the first few years hoping Left Field would work. He relied on family loans and funds from the Bowdoinham Community Development Initiative.
“Growing a business and being a startup is a challenge by itself,” Hagan said. “I like that there are problems to solve everyday. The work is rewarding, and I love working for myself. Not to say I don’t want a day off here and there.”
He grows mixed vegetables, but nothing too fancy.
“Not any kohlrabi,” he said, joking. “Not that there’s anything against kohlrabi.”
Last week, he started seeds that will go into the ground next month: onions, lettuce, tomato, basil, parsley and broccoli.
In 2016, community-supported agriculture shares made up one-third for his income, selling wholesale to restaurants about half, with the rest being farmers market sales.
This year, he’s hoping to grow CSAs to half of his business, shooting for 130 to 150 customers. He’s taken the unusual step of dropping off to homes and offices in the Portland area, and the even more unusual step this year of mixing art and veggies: CSA customers can opt in to buy artwork designed on an antique letterpress, an off-season passion that puts some of that art schooling to work.
kskelton@sunjournal.com
Sean Hagan waters vegetable seeds inside a Left Field Farm greenhouse in Bowdoinham.
Sean Hagan labels leeks that he planted at Left Field Farm in Bowdoinham.
Left Field Farm was named after Sean Hagan’s love for baseball.
Sean Hagan plants leeks at Left Field Farm in Bowdoinham.
Sean Hagan grew up in San Fransico and has settled down in Bowdoinham as owner of Left Field Farm.
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