Tuturau dairy farmers Lois and Robin Greer are different from the rest.
Not only do they run a conventional dairy farm, they also they run an organic dairy farm with a herd of solely Jersey cows.
The past eight years' hard work of organic farming and the development of an on-farm factory used to process organic milk into cheese, fresh milk and yoghurt has led to their being named as one of four finalists in the South Island Farmer of the Year competition.
The pair began their dairying dream sharemilking in the Waikato for 12 years before making the move south to Tuturau, near Gore, in 1993.
They began the move to organic farming about 12 years ago when they looked at all of the chemicals that were involved with conventional farming. Their operation was certified organic four years later.
''With our research we had seen a lot of stuff that was going into the farm; we decided to change something ourselves,'' Mr Greer said.
They started by just taking out some chemical inputs then ended up doing the full change to organic farming.
The plant to process about 20% of the organic milk had been in operation for six years now. For Mr Greer, his dream had always been to process the farm's own
milk.
''The dream was never going to be going organic - that is just the way it turned out,'' he said.
Their Retro Organic products were now stocked throughout New Zealand.
Some of the changes from conventional dairying to organic farming had taken time to work out for the Greers but the two challenges they continued to face were mastitis and the somatic cell count in the cows.
Mr Greer said he continued to research the issues and there would be much trial and error figuring out a solution.
''The cows are the core of the business.''
Mrs Greer said with the fertiliser it had been more gradual.
Mr Greer had spent the past six years focusing on the factory and helping it grow but his focus was now shifting back to the cow's production.
With a team of 18 fantastic staff spread throughout New Zealand, four of them
in the factory, the Greers had the capacity to change their focus.
Mrs Greer said in the past six months the Retro Organics team had grown significantly and this reflected what the business had achieved.
With more staff members, the Greers wanted to keep the communication up right throughout the country, from the staff on the farm to the distributors putting the products on the store shelves.
It was a family business with the Greers' children all playing a role in their success. Two were involved with the farm and factory while the other two were studying, Mrs Greer said.
The first round of judges of the South Island Farmer of the Year said the Greers had an innovative business with a strong sense of family culture.
''Robin and Lois have complementary skill sets that have created a successful business.
It was ''an inspiring story of passion and perseverance to achieve long-term goals.''
The second round of judges, which featured a different panel, was at the Greers' farm this week.
The winner of the South Island Farmer of the Year will be announced on November 19.
By Nicole Sharp