In 2025, following ratification of our revised Constitution, the “Board”: becomes the “Committee” and will increase to between five and eight members. Board members are elected at the AGM, and serve a three-year term, retiring by rotation. Membership includes three farmer reps, and two others. In addition, the Board may seek input from others who bring particular skills to the table.
The LandWISE Committee is responsible for the governance of LandWISE Incorporated. The Committee sets policy and direction and ensures finances and other business issues are managed. Day to day running of LandWISE is the responsibility of the Manager. As of the 2025 AGM, the Committee is:
Simon White – Chair
Simon is a farmer and entrepreneur based in Otane, Hawke’s Bay. He and his wife, Lou, have built a diverse operation with soil health at its core. They have a mix of arable cropping and sheep and beef finishing across 1100 hectares which has been in their family for three generations. Simon and Lou won the regional supreme title at the 2025 East Coast Ballance Farm Environment Awards, which recognised their focus on sustainability and business success built on diversification and innovation.
Angus Mckenzie
Angus manages the family’s 1000ha Wairuna farm, a diverse cropping and livestock operation near the coast south of Ashburton. Alongside the farm operation, Angus runs a contracting business. He has Bachelor of Agriculture and a Master’s in Agricultural Systems Management. The recipient of a Lincoln Future Leadership Scholarship, Angus is a leader of a FAR Growers Leading Change (GLC) discussion group focusing on soil quality, has hosted a demonstration site of cultivation techniques, and is an advocate of crop health being an indicator of soil health.
Lizzy Wicken
Lizzy is Fruit Agronomist and Heinz-Wattie’s based in Hastings where she works with growers and manages supply of peaches, pears, plums & boysenberries. Lizzy has an overview of regenerative production across all crops including vegetables, noting that Kraft Heinz has a global perspective that sustainable agriculture is the foundational basis on which we get to regenerative outcomes with soil being restored, biodiversity growing, and water and carbon being better absorbed.
Dr Chandré Honeth
Chandré is a lecturer and researcher in Viticulture and Wine Science at the Eastern Institute of Technology in Hawke’s Bay, received her PhD from the University of Stellenbosch. Her research, focused by interests in viticulture and the influence of terroir on berry characteristics, has investigated the impacts that vineyard management, climatic factors and seasonal effects have on berry composition linking to wine properties. Industry collaborations include the HB Vine group, the Bragato Research Institute, Plant and Food Research, and a number of local producers giving her broad practical experience in vineyard maintenance and management.
Daniel Sutton
Daniel is Research, Development and Extension Manager at Vegetables NZ. Building on 12 years in technical research and advisory roles, he coordinates projects and extension across New Zealand and has a key role in Te Ahikawariki, the Vegetable Industry Centre of Excellence based in Pukekohe. As well as managing projects, and extension activities, Daniel continues to assess new technologies and is an active presenter of research outcomes.
Dan Bloomer – Manager
As the Executive for the Committee, Dan brings a diverse set of interests and extensive experience in field trials and extension to his role overseeing the LandWISE research and extension portfolio. He has been LandWISE Manager from our inception, and works independently as a consultant in water, irrigation, soil and land management, and agritechnology. His past roles include board positions with Irrigation NZ, Precision Agriculture NZ, and Agritech NZ, as well as being part of the Sprout Advisory team. He recently completed his PhD focused on the very low energy electrocution of weeds as an alternative to chemical herbicide controls.