When Meringandan’s Kylie Martin couldn’t find a safe bowl of oats for her food-sensitive kids, she didn’t complain, she rewrote the rules. What started as a mum on a mission has grown into a national first: Australia’s only farm-to-bowl uncontaminated oat supply chain. Her work earned her a place as a Queensland finalist in the prestigious AgriFutures Rural Women’s Award 2024.
This is a grassroots agricultural breakthrough with serious implications for both the gluten-sensitive and Australian farming communities.
Kylie’s journey began where many food revolutions do: in her own kitchen. After discovering that even "gluten-free" oats in Australia weren’t truly safe due to cross-contamination, she started importing uncontaminated oats from the US. That wasn’t enough.
“I didn’t just want to bring the product here,” Kylie says. “I wanted to grow it here. I wanted an Australian oat that people with coeliac disease could actually trust.”
That meant going up against outdated labelling laws, navigating the red tape around what can and can’t be called “gluten-free” in Australia, and convincing local farmers to grow oats to uncompromising purity standards.
By 2022, her company GF Oats Australia had transitioned fully to Australian-grown oats, partnering with growers in Western Australia’s Wandering region and implementing rigorous testing protocols to eliminate contamination at every stage.
GF Oats Australia is a quiet revolution in food transparency, consumer safety, and rural innovation. Kylie has built a new supply chain in a country where “gluten-free oats” technically can’t be called that, even though they meet (and exceed) international standards. While politicians argue semantics and industry hesitates to change, Kylie and her farmers got on with it.
Being named an AgriFutures finalist is recognition for Kylie’s business and her relentless pursuit of safe food and her commitment to rural enterprise.
“This is about more than oats. It’s about proving that regional women can lead world-first innovation, on their own terms,” she says. “I’m not your typical farmer, but I’ve built something farmers can be proud of.”
Kylie is using the platform to push for clearer labelling laws, grow the GF Oats network across the country, and ensure gluten-sensitive Australians have a real choice at breakfast time.
About GF Oats Australia
GF Oats Australia is the only brand in the country delivering 100% Australian-grown uncontaminated oats. Working closely with growers in WA, the company implements strict testing and traceability to ensure no gluten contamination, offering a safe solution for coeliacs and those with gluten intolerance.
About the AgriFutures Rural Women’s Award
The AgriFutures Rural Women’s Award celebrates forward-thinking women who are making real change in rural industries and communities. Winners and finalists represent the bold new face of agriculture and agribusiness across Australia.
