Project management and farming: why the connection matters more than ever in 2026

If you have ever worked with me, sat in one of my workshops, or followed AgCelerate for any length of time, you will know I describe myself as both a farm business consultant (I prefer the word coach but consultant is easier for people to understand) and a project manager. Some people pause at that as the two disciplines sound unrelated. They are not.

Running a farming business and running a project rely on the same foundations: a clear strategic direction, disciplined prioritisation, logical sequencing of tasks, and an unwavering focus on outcomes. In 2026, that combination is not just relevant: it is essential.

Farming is a strategic enterprise, not just an operational one

Most farming businesses are measured in production terms: tonnes per hectare, lambing percentages, weaning weights. Those numbers matter. But underneath them sits a strategic engine that needs just as much attention.

Where is the business heading over the next five to ten years? What are the priorities for this season? What is the financial capacity to act, and what is the risk exposure if conditions shift? Without clear answers to those questions, the season runs you. With them, you run the season.

That is strategy and it does not happen by accident.

What project management actually brings to the table

Project management is not just methodology and jargon. At its core, it is the discipline of moving from intention to execution. I run a colour coded calendar and an actuals to budget cashflow for my own business, my clients, and the projects I lead. Not because I love admin, but because visibility drives better decisions and allows for accountability.

Review is also a non-negotiable part of good project management. Looking back at decisions made, what worked, what did not, and why. Recent research suggests only 16% of farmers conduct a formal review of their decisions. My clients do. Which means they are already operating in the top 16% of the industry before we even get to the strategic work. Defining the outcome, breaking it into key tasks, sequencing those tasks logically, allocating responsibility, monitoring progress and adjusting when things change.

That should sound familiar to anyone running a farming business.

The skill I find most underestimated in both disciplines is understanding how decisions connect. Increasing stocking rate affects feed demand, which can put pressure on working capital, which may then affect finance requirements and risk profile. In project language, that is dependency mapping. In farming, it is often called experience. I call it structured thinking, and it can be taught, applied, and built into how a business operates.

The part that does not always get talked about

There is another reason I continue to identify as a project manager, and it goes beyond methodology. I have spent years working alongside researchers, industry bodies, funded projects, and stakeholders across agriculture and beyond. That world constantly informs the work I do with farming clients: current research, policy shifts, market intelligence, and practical learnings from other regions and sectors. This is not theory or recycled commentary, rather it is real-time, relevant insight from an industry I am genuinely active inside.

And then there is the network itself. The real power of project work has never been the spreadsheet: it is knowing who to call, who has already solved a version of the problem, and how to bring the right people together at the right time. I often describe this part of my work as chief cat herder. Getting the right people in the room and keeping them pointed in the same direction is a skill that farming businesses need just as much as any major project does. That trust and access flows directly to the businesses I work with.

Why it matters now

Complexity in agriculture is increasing. Interest rate cycles, input costs, climate variability, policy settings, market access: the operating environment is more demanding than it was a decade ago. Running a multi-million dollar enterprise without strategic structure in that environment adds pressure and fatigue that does not need to be there.

Structure reduces stress. Clarity increases confidence. And disciplined execution turns intention into progress.

Sometimes that means deep strategic work: modelling scenarios, stress testing cashflow, thinking three moves ahead. And sometimes it just means someone needs to sit beside you and say: right, this is the priority, let's get it done. I am comfortable in both places. The cat herding and the doing are equally part of the job.

That is the connection between project management and farming and it is the work I care about most.