The necessity to change came in 1988 when a disastrous spring drought hit their Maungati farm in South Canterbury, forcing them to sell 8-week-old lambs for $8.
The brain-storming was in response to two questions - the first being did they still want to carry on farming? When they answered yes, the next question was how to drought-proof their farm?Their answer was to breed merino sheep, but several years later that business changed to include growing ultra-fine wool on 1000 merino wethers housed in two special sheds.
The Payne's primary goal was to have a financially viable, drought-resilient business and they have achieved that breeding wethers for an ultra-fine merino wool production.
Such has been their success, they have for four successive years from 2003 to 2006 won the Ermenegildo Zegna trophy for selling the finest fleece in New Zealand.
Their last winning fleece was 11 micron.
From 2005 to 2008 they won the Loro Piana award for selling the finest bale of wool, their winning bales ranging from 12.1 micron in 2005 to 11.8 micron in 2008.
Prior to this, the Paynes operated a traditional downlands operation on their 170ha farm of 1300 Perendale breeding ewes, 50 breeding cows and 20ha of crop.
The shift occurred over two years to Saxon bloodline merino ewes, some wethers and trading cattle, a move which coincided with a surge of interest in merinos, but luck was on their side.
Mr Payne said they paid $30 for privately-bought annual draft ewes, just weeks before the price skyrocketed and they more than trebled in price.
They soon dropped the wether flock when they discovered they did not pay the bills.
Mr Payne said he always knew the secret to breeding was buying the right rams and once he had bought his merino flock, went and bought three rams, paying whatever price was required to purchase the three sires he had chosen.
That included buying the first ram offered at the very first ram auction they went to.
He recalled seeing a graph which revealed the finer the wool micron, the greater the returns.
Their ewe flock in the early 1990s averaged 21 micron, but through breeding and selection it has fallen to 15.4 micron.
"When we first went into merinos and I saw that graph, I decided that's where I've got to be."
Mrs Payne said her husband had a natural eye for merino wool, which was essential as they improved the flock's clip, but it was an attribute Mrs Payne has also developed, resulting in some debate and discussion about the merits of selecting replacements.
They started putting covers on their two-tooth ewes to aid wool growth and quality and they found they grew more wool and were earning a $2 to $3 a kg premium.
But, Mr Payne said the workload was too great and they stopped doing that last year.
They realised their clip quality was making progress when about eight years ago they were asked to contribute wool to be considered by the Ultra Fine Merino Company to fill an order.
Mr Payne said it was the first time they had compared their wool with other growers, and such was the quality of their wool, the company took 115kg of the 150kg put up by the Paynes.
"We were on a high that night," said Mrs Payne.
They had not yet started housing the sheep and ironically the wool for the Ultra Fine Merino Company had come from year-old wether hoggets they had finished to send to the works, typical of their farm system back then.
Twenty-six wethers got a stay of execution and the Paynes started to investigate how they could build on their success.
They were aware some Australian farmers housed merinos and made two visits across the Tasman to investigate, from which they decided to trial by putting the 26 under cover.
Eventually they perfected the system, including developing a pen design including plastic flooring, a customised sheep nut formula and finding a shed design - what was called an Eco-Shelter with a white plastic cover roof and sides and raised floor.
They now have two sheds, each housing 500 weathers, with the design allowing the free movement of air and the plastic plenty of sunshine and light.
If the weather turned rough, walls can be dropped to provide more protection.
Mr Payne designed the pens which include a self-cleaning conveyer-belt system to collect effluent and straw in the bunker underneath which was recycled back on to the paddocks every four days.
"It sure makes the grass grow."
Animal welfare was paramount to the Paynes and a code of practice which encompasses the five freedoms of animals guides their philosophy.
Those freedom are:
• Freedom from hunger and thirst.
• Freedom from discomfort.
• Freedom from pain.
• Freedom to express normal behaviour.
• Freedom from fear and stress.
"This is what we believe and we feel our operation encompasses all of those things," said Mr Payne.
Visiting the sheds, the wethers, or boys as the Payne's call them, were calm, relaxed, contented and with ample room in their pens.
Mr Payne said he has only removed one wether over the years because it was unsettled.