Today we’d like to introduce you to Logan Brown.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
My work with plant medicine began with a herbalism apprenticeship during college, where I found just how deep medicinal plants can reach and how beneficial that relationship can be. Since then, I’ve been almost solely focused on utilizing herbs and plants of power to assist in healing myself and the poeple around me. My husband and business partner, Travis, began his journey in the culinary arts, focusing on the food is medicine aspect of plant medicine. We met while working on farms in the cannabis industry almost 10 years ago and have been focusing on this plant of power ever since.
We had been looking for a property of our own in 2019, hoping to fuse our practical cultivation knowledge with the budding hemp industry as a way to further continue down the path of creating potent medicine at a boutique level. We bought our farm in April of 2020, perfectly seizing the opportunity to start fresh. After learning the land at our new location, We began cultivating top shelf CBD and other minor cannabinoid flower, filling a niche we saw the industry had really needed to be filled. From there we’ve expanded our product offerings and cultivars to become a thriving CBD brand.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
I don’t think smooth roads really exist when it comes to development. Every aspect of this journey has been challenging in one way or another, whether its taking a leap of faith at the hight of the pandemic or launching a product, there will always be a learning curve to manuever through. I think the largest struggle so far has been trying to scale our goals and visions into the realities of the financial budget we have as opposed to what we hope to have. A close second struggle is probably the volatility of the industry, with everchanging laws, regulations, and additional fees whether it be new licenses, testing or more that comes up along the way makes it very difficult to maintain a multi year plan that farming absolutely requires. However, we’ve been fortunate enough to navigate the changes and keep on growing!
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
Simply Sol is a BIPOC owned and operated hemp, medicinal herb and produce farm committed to cultivating medicines naturally and regeneratively for our community and beyond. We understand the importance of accessible medicines and have found that when in harmony with the environment, allies to health are all around us. Our experience has shown us that high quality healing crops can only be grown in an environment of balance, vitality and respect for the full circle of contributors large and microscopic. Another of our goals is to attempt to address the severe inequalities and inequities in the cannabis and farming industry in Oregon (and the wider U.S.) via providing a safe educational space for BIPOC folks and more, ultimately providing the direct experience based knowledge required for successful farming. Our farm currently grows on 6+ acres of the 25 acre property we own/steward outside of Southeast Portland in Molalla.
Risk taking is a topic that people have widely differing views on – we’d love to hear your thoughts.
We’re big believers in risk taking! The start of the business was a huge risk, we bought this farm with absolutely no safety net at a time when it felt like the entire world was rapidly changing. In those moments, I feel like it’s most important to dig in, stay focused and trust the process. We had done our due diligence and felt prepared to take this on, so we trusted that knowledge. Little did we know there was still so much to learn, but that is natural when diving into new endeavors. We’ve taken several other, smaller risks since then, but most of them have panned out into something that is now a beneficial aspect or product for our brand. Of course, the ones that didn’t are really valuable learning experiences, something that we might not have known otherwise.
Pricing:
- Pre Rolls – from $5 to $25/6pk
- Boutique CBD Flower – starting at $20/1/8th
- Rainbow Road CBGa Tincture – starting at $42
- Problem Salved Topical Pain Relief – starting at $27
- Good Vibe CBD Gummies – $36/24pk
Contact Info:
- Website: simplysolfarms.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/simply_sol_farm
Image Credits
Photos by Grace Hefley