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At the dawn of the 19th century, model farms appeared at several places in Northern and Eastern Europe in order to foster agricultural progress through the use of example and emulation among landowners. Principles of “enlightened” agriculture, aimed at maximizing profits using new cultivation and husbandry methods, were experimented on such farms. This article examines the model farm contribution to the history of agricultural enterprise management, based on an analysis of two French pioneering institutions: Roville and Grand-Jouan. The former was directed by a famous figure of French agronomy, Mathieu de Dombasle, and the latter by a former student of the Roville Institute, Jules Rieffel. The analysis highlights the managerial practices and accounting techniques established that constituted a scholarly form of estate management, as well as a way of thinking and a toolkit that were embedded in this scholarly form. New work disciplines and a spirit of calculation emerged from these “enlightened” agricultural laboratories and these changes contributed to a transformation in the relationship between technique and management. From that point on, the entrepreneur’s rational decisions were considered to play a key role in the success of the agricultural enterprise.