Growing poppies in Alberta

Jul 11, 2019

One company hopes to capitalize on an untapped industry in Canada

By Diego Flammini
Staff Writer
Farms.com

A Lethbridge, Alta. company wants to introduce a new crop to farmers’ rotations.

Since about 2007, API Labs has been trying to develop a type of poppy for use in different industries.

The company secured government funding for research and has created the Viola poppy that can be used for its seeds or as a potential biofuel.

The next step in the commercialization process is changing some of the language surrounding poppies in Canada.

API Labs requires either an exemption to Section 56 of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act or an actual change to the legislation that would put Canada in line with countries like Spain, Turkey and France where farmers can grow poppies legally.

Commercial production of poppies in Canada is currently illegal because they can be used to make narcotics including heroin. The crop is also used to make pharmaceutical drugs.

Members of Alberta’s provincial government support the new ag endeavor.

If the federal government can treat poppies the same way it treats hemp, it could be a way to overcome this obstacle, said Roger Reid, the MLA for Livingstone-Macleod.

“Similar to the way that Health Canada has diversified classifications for cannabis and hemp related to THC concentrations, (API Labs is) looking for regulatory pieces which could allow them to do the same thing with the poppies,” he told Lacombe Online.

And now could be the opportune time for Alberta’s ag industry to add a new crop to the mix.

Given the uncertainty surrounding canola trade with China and other ag disputes, adding poppies to a crop rotation would give Canada a new product to sell.

“Looking at the road blocks we’re facing with canola right now with China, here’s opportunities for local growers to be able to quickly switch a crop over with high demand and an available market,” Reid said.

Farms.com has reached out to API Labs for comment.

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.