A 14 hectare field of opium poppies is growing near Cowra.
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The Cowra crop is part of fields of poppies spanning 200 hectares which have begun germinating in the NSW with the opiates set to tap into the multi-million dollar medications industry.
Manager of the Cowra property, Rob Skene said the local crop was “a trial run, just to see how it goes”.
Growing of the crops was legalised in NSW late last year and Mr Skene said the decision was made to trial the crop on the property which is located near Cowra as another crop rotation option.
Minister for Primary Industries Niall Blair announced on Thursday last week the state's first poppy crops, planted at five farms in the NSW Central West and the Hunter Valley, have started to germinate ahead of their inaugural October harvest.
It's an agricultural milestone to get the "green light" to safely and securely grow the coloured flowers, he said.
"The opiates extracted from poppies are used for a wide range of conditions, including pain relief, palliative care and anti-addiction medication," Mr Blair said.
"The global demand for poppies is increasing rapidly and at current rates will potentially be worth up to $100 million in 10 years."
Head of poppy processing company TPI Enterprises, Jarrod Ritchie, said the five cultivation licences issued to NSW farmers will ensure Australia "remains a global leader in the supply of essential pain relief medicines".
It remains illegal to take, use, sell or grow poppies without a licence in NSW and penalties for possession apply.
Mr Blair introduced the Poppy Industry Bill 2016 in August last year, which enabled Australian alkaloid poppy production to extend into NSW.
All going well Cowra’s crop is expected to be harvested in November by a specially built harvester imported by TPI Enterprises from Europe.
Development of the crop, Mr Skene said, was dependent upon ideal growing conditions.
“It is very susceptible to fungus during the growing period,” Mr Skene said.
“It is such a fine seed the hardest part is getting it out of the ground.”
Mr Skene said success of the crop was conditional upon the growing season being “pretty spot on”.
“It is like any other crop reliant on nutrients.
“It has a very shallow root system and requires tissue testing and has to be topped up with nutrients during the growing season," Mr Skene said.