For the last two years the Waikato-based Dewes has been a member of Landcorp’s Environmental Reference Group (ERG), which also includes dairy critics such as Dr Mike Joy and Guy Salmon.
Dewes runs a sustainable farming consultancy which she will no longer be involved in working for once she starts in the new job in January.
The new role will be Wellington-based, and Dewes said she envisaged she would divide her time between the capital and getting to see the 140 farms owned or managed by Landcorp.
«Landcorp is in a good position to address environmental issues because of its scale.»
«As New Zealand’s largest pastoral farmer, there is a responsibility to be a leader in the environmental space, including carefully piloting new ideas, and ultimately, doing the right thing.»
«The advances that have been made even in the time I have been on the ERG have been enormous. They take their environmental responsibilities seriously, and have a genuine commitment to stewardship of the resources they have under their control,» Dewes said.
She said New Zealand agriculture faced a number of important challenges, among them showing legitimate proof of its clean green image, the overuse of antibiotics and disruption from the emergence of synthetic protein.
Dewes completed a Masters of Science in 2015 focused on how Upper Waikato dairy farms can be profitable while achieving the lowest possible environmental impact.
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She has previously worked for Nestle Australia in business development and quality assurance, Commonwealth Bank in lending, and managed Intelact Australia.
She was elected to the NZ Veterinary Board in 2015. She was a finalist for the NZI sustainability champion in 2014, received a commendation for community impact for her work with farmers, and was a finalist in the 2015 Women of Influence Awards in Public Policy.