Dad’s Oats: Innovation wins out

IT was a massive year of growth for the Cain family from Natte Yallock in Victoria’s Mallee.

Oat to joy: Cain family members Matt, Maurice, Alicia, Ruth and Peter in the paddocks of their cropping farm at Natte Yallock.

IT was a massive year of growth for the Cain family from Natte Yallock in Victoria’s Mallee, who launched a product never before seen on the market, transformed their family farm business model and propelled a succession plan into action.

The concept of Dad’s Oats was born over a bottle of wine in late 2015, the brainchild of fourth-generation cropping farmer Maurice Cain’s adult children, Alicia and Peter. The siblings reasoned if people cared about the grapes and the story behind their wine, surely the same applied to the oats in their porridge.

They coined the term “single-origin oats” — made with oats from the best paddocks of their 800-hectare Natte Yallock farm.

For 55 years, Maurice has grown echidna oats. Last year, his son, Matt, an agronomist, joined him and the pair uses a low-till approach with a focus on soil health. In the past, their 350-tonne oat harvest has been sold to large processors.

For their first batch of Dad’s Oats, Alicia and Peter skimmed off the best of the harvest, processing about 10 tonnes of oats. Alicia designed Dad’s Oats’ logo and packaging, while Peter launched a website featuring the Cains’ story and recipes from their mum, Ruth.

Days were spent at farmers’ markets, while door-knocking at cafes paid off with sales soaring. Nights were spent packing the 500g oat packs into cardboard sleeves. A Dad’s Oats crowdfunding campaign raised nearly $20,000, which went towards launching an online store.

“We’ve had fantastic growth in sales since we launched the online store,” Alicia says, “and a lot of people are now on a subscription-based model.”

Demand has led to a second batch of Dad’s Oats, 20 tonnes this time, plus new products, larger pack sizes and a third batch on the way.

For Maurice, the new product has transformed the business and cemented its future. “It has solidified us as a farming family,” Maurice says. “As a farmer you don’t sometimes realise the market. We’re removed. Alicia and Peter saw that demand and I didn’t, but I sure do now.”

For their development of a new product, understanding their target market, and the success that followed, the Cain Family are worthy winners of The Weekly Times Coles FARM magazine Innovative Farmer of the Year.