Man hand open poppy head in field. Check of poppy quality. Field with brown ripened Papaver somniferum, the type of poppy from which opium and many refined opiates are extracted.

Agri View: Opium, For the Birds

Dan Agri View

Man hand open poppy head in field. Check of poppy quality. Field with brown ripened Papaver somniferum, the type of poppy from which opium and many refined opiates are extracted.

 

Everett Griner talks about opium growers having problems with birds in today’s Agri View.

 

 

 

Opium is a legitimate crop grown in India. In fact it is one the major crops. Legal because it is grown for the medical profession. It is closely monitored and carefully inventoried. It is used in a large volume for creating other drugs common in hospitals, clinics doctor’s offices. The volume of the crop has declined in recent years. All growers keep records of what is harvested and where it goes. They keep wild animals away from the crop. Still the volume of opium harvested last year was the smallest ever. Creating a mystery for the people who grow it. Well the mystery has been solved. Growers know where the crop is going. To the birds. Seriously, parrots, the most popular pet bird in the world is the culprit. Not the pets. The wild ones. The problem now is how are you going to stop them?

That’s Agri View for today. I’m Everett Griner.