poppy seed

[lobo]

Can anyone point me in the right direction to get information on growing poppy seed. Who offers contracts on this crop, which soil are best for it and which chemicals can be used for weed control in this crop.

[piquett]

The poppy used in confectionary poppy is Papaver somniferum - opium poppy. It may not be illegal to produce seed but it is to extract the latex and make heroin, morphine, etc. This is where it gets sticky. RCMP have to be notified of the site as it is a narcotic and it must be secured - heavily. There have been cases where trespassers have razor bladed the poppy heads to obtain the latex and then they do the illegal part. This is handled by health canada as part of the narcotics area. I think would be a lot like hemp in licensing to grow and licensed seed and letting everyone know where all parts of the plant are at all times. Only hemp is low THC while Papaver somniferum is opium poppy anyway you look at it! Because of the legal implications in both Canada and the US I am unaware of any markets.

[craig]

When I lived in Australia I remember seeing fields of poppies being grown in Tasmania. Might be worthwhile doing internet search there.

[bedrock]

Papaver somniferum (opium poppy), has both white and lavender bloosom strains. The white is used as traditional poppy seed. The dark (lavender) is used for baking purposes. There is a limited market for seed domestically, but I am not aware of any contracts to grow. There is a greater, albeit, more complex market in the florist trade for the pods, both domestically and in the US. Our field plots have indicated that the opium poppy is the best suited to harvesting pods.Soil condition adaptation is widely variable, lighter soils in full sun preferable, as you would expect.Both strains are legal to grow in Canada, but not in the US, which opens an opportunity for large scale pod demand in the florist industry.There is no legal responsibility or liability for a grower to take any special safeguards, nor is there any requirement to report the site to any agency. Unlike hemp, the sale of germinatable seed is not restricted.

[voltare]

I have been growing and researching Poppies for years. I have not sold my production yet but I hope to begin as soon as I find the chemicals I need to create a clean crop. There are numerous ways and markets to sell poppy seed into. Highest prices are offered locally. There was a company in Saskatoon buying seed last year. I did not submit a sample because I was ashamed of the low quality seed I produced. I have a lot of information from old Alberta reports as well as Indian cultivation. If you or anyone else has questions or answers you can email me at wilmar@sk.sympatico.ca or we can continue right here at Agriville. Note that this is not a crop to be grown by someone with a criminal record. The trust that you develop with your local detachment of the RCMP is important.

[voltare]

I have done some more research on the topic of growing poppies. According to Laurie Postnikof of the Canadian Health Protection Agency (1-306-975-4502)in Saskatchewan, growing poppies is illegal in Canada. Even low or no-drug poppy varieties can be legally grown (of the Papaver Somniferum species). I wonder if someday maybe non-drug poppies could be legally grown like hemp is grown which is low in TCP. It would take a lot of lobbying and work but I think the market size and profitability is worth trying. The market price for imported poppy seed works out to about 100 to 150 $/bushel and many tonnes of poppy seed are consumed each year in Western Canada alone. Aditionally, Saskatchewan's sunny cool climate is well suited to growing this commodity. Could someone respond about how dificult it might be to get hemp like status for low drug poppy production in Canada?