Luke Evans

Luke runs Rockhampton Downs cattle station, a 450,000 hectare property in Australia’s Northern Territory, running about 20,000 to 25,000 Brahman females, breeding predominantly for the export market. A position he has held since winning the award. Luke is involved in land development, including significant irrigation and solar projects on the property, and general station duties. Luke not only runs the significant operation but also mentors' youth, and provides on-the-job training and employment opportunities at the property.

Luke is hard working and down-to-earth, with a philosophy around rolling up his sleeves and getting on with it, and he expects the same from his team. As he sees it, he wouldn’t expect others to do what he doesn’t do himself and leads from the front.

When asked about what he loves most about farming, he says “What’s not to love? Working outside with animals, doing different stuff every day, and then there’s all the machinery, like dozers, helicopters, and planes. In comparison, doing anything else would be pretty boring really.”

Luke was at a crossroads in his career when he won the Zanda McDonald Award, but he says the connections he's made through the award has propelled his knowledge forward years in advance.
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"The best thing about my involvement in the Zanda McDonald Award is the people that I have met within the industry".