Converting their conventional sheep farm to organic certainly wasn’t the path of least resistance. But for Bronwyn and George Stevenson of Lindhurst Farm in Dacre, a small town in the Southland Plains 20 minutes drive from Invercargill, they haven’t looked back since making the decision more than 15 years ago.

“My grandfather bought the property in 1937 and my father took over from him. Then it was my turn,” says George. 

“It's an easy, rolling hills sort of country and in 1994 I bought into stock and plant, buying into the land and buildings in 1997. I purchased a herd of around 100 breeding cows, to add to the couple of thousand sheep. We continued on with business as usual until the early 2000s, then began to consider whether organic farming was the future for us.” 

There were three main drivers for the couple, with the first one being the health of George’s father, who had experienced two bouts of cancer in a short space of time. They were also feeling fatigued by the conventional way of farming. When another vaccine came along as the answer to a new issue facing farmers, it was another addition to their cost structure. So they were worried about whether their kids would be able to take over one day - questioning if it would simply be financially unsustainable. 

“Often when farms are generation to generation, you can lose that ability to think for yourself,” says George. 

Pictured: Bronwyn and George with their daughters who are identical twins, Cassidy (grey) and Olivia (navy).

“But there’s that saying by Albert Einstein which is ‘insanity is when you do the same thing over and over, and expect different results’. And we wanted to increase returns for our farm, not continue to have them eaten up by adding another costly product to the way we did things.

“We also saw the price value difference between organic and conventional lamb. At the time it was $6 versus $3 per kilo respectively.”

The third catalyst for change came about through Bronwyn’s work in the health sector. 

“I saw the ‘dance’ that many pharmaceutical companies did with the doctors. For example selling branded products for $50, compared to a generic product for $15. It was all about the money flow.”

So in 2007, when the government was offering mentorship programmes through Organics Aotearoa New Zealand (OANZ) to promote organics, the Stevenson’s decided that the time was right to put a line in the sand. Then came the work to make the transition - from the land, to the animals themselves and what happened outside of the farm gate. 

“There wasn’t a lot you could use on the property itself, in terms of fertiliser etc, as nothing could be chemically processed. Today there are a lot more products available, but back then it was really about leaning into the natural environment,” explains George. 

“With the animals it was about looking after their welfare first and foremost, and considering every step you took. If they required a drench, we had to prove why it was needed and it was a bit of a tricky one, as there were different standards for the various organic markets.”

The biggest change that the couple experienced was how organics required a proactive approach to getting everything right. When comparing it to the way they conventionally farmed, if ever there was a problem they would rush to the vet to find a way out of it. But organics was about deep diving into soils and their biology, understanding the body structure of animals and careful management of every farming decision. 

“For example, with most sheep farms, you have the ability to drop your stocking rate if required, however organics is already very low input. So we had to get in tune with nature more, and we were helped along by a couple of key people who guided us on this transition, like South Otago farmer Bruce McGill ,” says Bronwyn. 

Pictured: Cassidy Stevenson

“Rather than trying to kill lice, we look to regulate the life cycle and second shearing helps with lice control. And the bonus is this also works for the organic market, as they only want short length wool.” 

While the learning curve was steep, and the road to being certified organic was long, the Stevenson’s couldn’t imagine farming any other way now. 

“My grandad and dad were always quite proactive farmers anyway and didn’t use a lot of synthetic inputs on the property. But when the auditors from the Biogro Certification Programme come to our farm, they can’t believe the biodiversity that is present, they are always so excited to see how everything is flourishing,” says George. 

Pictured: George and son Ashley, on the arable farm where Ashley works in Waimate.

“And then there’s our three children, Ashley, Cassidy and Olivia, who have only known organic farming all their life,” adds Bronwyn. 

“They’re all progressing through their studies at Lincoln University with ambitions to work in agriculture. But we’re quite mean parents and have told them they have to go work somewhere else for 10 years - to work with other people and other farming systems - before they can come and settle here. Because once you’re on the farm, it’s hard to get away. 

“So they have now seen and experienced conventional farming, and they’ve definitely seen the difference. We all talk quite regularly talking about farming, business, organics, the  environment and regulations. It’s been interesting for them to get that exposure.” 

Pictured: Palle Petersen, General Manager of Bloch & Behrens.

Around 15 years ago, Lindhurst Farm began supplying all of their organic wool to an American client through Bloch & Behrens (B&B). As soon as a container is full, it’s sent off shore to a company making all natural mattresses and bedding, and the contract has certainly been a boon for George and Bronwyn. 

“Present day, our wool account is in credit by the time we pay our shearers and other costs, which certainly hasn’t always been the case. And what’s an assurance to us is that even if B&B weren’t sure they could sell the organic wool, they would still buy it, at a premium price (compared to conventional wool). 

Pictured: George Stevenson and Lawrence Paskell, PGW wool rep.

“We have great relationships with Palle Peterssn, General Manager for B&B, and our PGG Wrightson wool rep Lawrence Paskell. They are with us through any ups and downs, always keeping us informed, and we really value their service and efforts to help us deliver a high quality product to our customer. 

“We all want this to work and all value the wool for what it is and what it represents.”

And with the final word from Palle, he is hoping more New Zealand farmers will consider the prospect of converting to organics. 

“Demand for organic wool is well and truly outstripping supply, and with more and more consumers concerned about what they eat, where they sleep and general indoor health, there is a continued opportunity to grow that market. 

“We’re paying two or three times the price of conventional crossbred wool and this is always reviewed every year. We simply can’t get enough of it.”