It seems CBD is everywhere these days — skin-care products, over-the-counter beverages and even in your morning latté. If you’re familiar with the stuff, you’ve probably heard of the “entourage effect,” which describes the heightened health benefits that full-spectrum CBD products have over those that contain only isolate CBD. (Full-spectrum products contain all of the hemp plant’s beneficial compounds, including trace amounts of THC.)

Many CBD companies out there make full-spectrum products, but Miraflora Naturals, a CBD company based in Boulder, CO, takes it to a whole new level, starting with the way they grow the hemp itself. Call it full-spectrum farming, if you will. 

Miraflora grows its own hemp—which is what makes this brand, and its products, so special. They own a 160-acre USDA-certified organic farm in Boulder County that’s been family-owned and -operated for more than a century, and they have the original deed from Ulysses S. Grant to prove it. The soil has never, ever seen a pesticide. They water their hemp with pure snowmelt from nearby Rocky Mountain National Park, and they fertilize with what they call “Alpaca Gold,” nutrient-rich manure from their farm’s adorable alpaca herd (Merlin, Jackson Hole, and the gang). Add 300 days of glorious Colorado sunshine, and you get some of the finest full-spectrum CBD on the market.

The brand is also committed to sustainability, upcycling their unused hemp stalks for paper and animal bedding, employing drip irrigation to conserve water, and planting two trees for every box they ship. And the fact that their fertilizer comes right from their farm means they cut down on transportation emissions. Their hemp alone — they also grow hay, lavender and wildflowers — removes as much carbon from the atmosphere as 10 cars produce in an average year.

“It feels great to work for a brand that’s helping the problem, not causing it,” said Brent Facchinello, Miraflora’s chief operating officer, who lives on the farm with his dog, Charlie. (To see the hilarious antics of Charlie and the unruly alpaca herd, check out the brand’s TikTok channel @alpacas_hemping.)  

So, you may be wondering why, exactly, is full-spectrum CBD so much better than isolate? According to Jonathan Vaught, Ph.D., cofounder and CEO of Front Range Biosciences and arguably the world’s premier hemp expert, scientists are still discovering why multiple compounds interact better with the receptors in the endocannabinoid system, but he has his own theory. “Basically, I think the difference between a pure compound and a group of compounds is akin to the difference between taking a vitamin isolated from lettuce versus eating the lettuce,” he said.

In addition, a lower dose of full-spectrum CBD is as or more effective than higher doses of isolate, which may help prevent possible drug interactions. Full-spectrum CBD is also less processed, which means more of the plant’s natural chemical properties remain intact.

If you choose to buy your full-spectrum CBD from Miraflora, you’ll know it comes from organic, sustainable full-spectrum farming, too. Try some of their premium full-spectrum products today, and see what the entourage effect can do for you.