Softwr

Agriculture · head to head

Baseline Irrigation vs Farmers Business Network (FBN)

Baseline Irrigation logo

Baseline Irrigation

Agriculture

Two-wire commercial irrigation control where the cloud subscription tier applies to every controller you own at once

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Farmers Business Network (FBN) logo

Farmers Business Network (FBN)

Agriculture

Farmer-to-farmer network and marketplace

From
$700/year
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Baseline Irrigation all controllers belonging to a company are set to the same BaseManager subscription level, so one complex site needing the higher tier raises the cost across every controller in the portfolio rather than just that site.; Farmers Business Network (FBN) the Internet Archive's capture of Farmers Business Network's homepage on 2 January 2021 stated core FBN membership is free, with fees applying only to add-on services such as FBN Direct input purchases, crop marketing advisory, brokerage, financing and insurance, each offered by separately licensed FBN subsidiary entities.
  • They diverge on capability: Baseline Irrigation covers BaseStation 3200, Farmers Business Network (FBN) covers Seed performance analytics.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Baseline Irrigation and Farmers Business Network (FBN) actually diverge.

Attributes where Baseline Irrigation and Farmers Business Network (FBN) differ
AttributeBaseline IrrigationFarmers Business Network (FBN)
Starting priceOn request$700/year
Pricing modelquotesubscription
FoundedUnknown2014

Identical on both: free tier (No), platforms (Web, iOS, Android), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Agriculture).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Baseline Irrigation

  • BaseStation 3200
  • BaseStation 1000
  • biSensor soil moisture
  • WeatherAccess scheduling
  • BaseManager
  • AppManager
  • Two-wire diagnostics
  • Flow management

Only in Farmers Business Network (FBN)

  • Seed performance analytics
  • Input price transparency
  • Direct input purchasing
  • Yield analytics
  • Crop marketing tools
  • Farm financing
  • Agronomic insights
  • Farmer network access

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Baseline Irrigation

  • A university grounds department running two-wire loops across a campus that needs fault location without diggingnot Farmers Business Network (FBN)
  • A city parks department under a water ordinance that must run WaterSense-compliant weather-based schedulingnot Farmers Business Network (FBN)
  • A property manager with 40 sites who needs one login rather than a controller key per locationnot Farmers Business Network (FBN)
  • A site with a history of mainline breaks where flow shutdown prevents a five-figure water bill overnightnot Farmers Business Network (FBN)

Farmers Business Network (FBN)

  • Input purchasingnot Baseline Irrigation
  • Seed selectionnot Baseline Irrigation
  • Price comparisonnot Baseline Irrigation
  • Farm financingnot Baseline Irrigation
  • Market insightsnot Baseline Irrigation

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Baseline Irrigation

  • All controllers belonging to a company are set to the same BaseManager subscription level, so one complex site needing the higher tier raises the cost across every controller in the portfolio rather than just that site.
  • WaterSense-compliant WeatherAccess operation on the 3200 requires an active BaseManager Plus subscription, which means a rebate or ordinance obligation depends on a recurring payment rather than the hardware you installed.
  • Baseline has been part of HydroPoint since 2016 and sits alongside the WeatherTRAK line, so buyers should ask directly which of the two product families gets new development, because they overlap.
  • No pricing is published for controllers or subscriptions, so estates cannot budget a multi-site rollout without a distributor quote per site.
  • Remote access needs Ethernet, Wi-Fi or a cellular modem at each controller, and cellular adds a data cost per site that is easy to leave out of a rollout budget for forty locations.

Farmers Business Network (FBN)

  • The Internet Archive's capture of Farmers Business Network's homepage on 2 January 2021 stated core FBN membership is free, with fees applying only to add-on services such as FBN Direct input purchases, crop marketing advisory, brokerage, financing and insurance, each offered by separately licensed FBN subsidiary entities.

Pricing, plan by plan

Baseline Irrigation

On request
  • BaseManager$undefined/year
    • Subscription tier determines available remote features
    • All controllers in a company are set to the same subscription level
    • BaseManager Plus required for WaterSense-compliant WeatherAccess operation

Farmers Business Network (FBN)

$700/year
  • FBN Membership$700/year
    • Access to FBN Analytics
    • Seed performance data
    • Chemical price transparency
  • FBN DirectFree
    • Transparent input pricing
    • Direct-to-farm delivery
    • Seed & crop protection

Which should you pick?

Choose Baseline Irrigation if

  • You need basestation 3200.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want basestation 1000.
Baseline Irrigation review

Choose Farmers Business Network (FBN) if

  • You need seed performance analytics.
  • You work on Web, Ios, Android.
  • You also want input price transparency.
Farmers Business Network (FBN) review

Questions people ask

Is Baseline Irrigation or Farmers Business Network (FBN) better?
Neither clearly leads. Baseline Irrigation starts at On request and Farmers Business Network (FBN) at $700/year, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Baseline Irrigation or Farmers Business Network (FBN)?
Baseline Irrigation starts at On request and Farmers Business Network (FBN) at $700/year.
Does Baseline Irrigation or Farmers Business Network (FBN) run on more platforms?
Baseline Irrigation runs on Web, iOS, Android. Farmers Business Network (FBN) runs on Web, Ios, Android.
What is Baseline Irrigation best used for?
Baseline Irrigation is most often used for a university grounds department running two-wire loops across a campus that needs fault location without digging, a city parks department under a water ordinance that must run watersense-compliant weather-based scheduling, a property manager with 40 sites who needs one login rather than a controller key per location, a site with a history of mainline breaks where flow shutdown prevents a five-figure water bill overnight. Of those, a university grounds department running two-wire loops across a campus that needs fault location without digging and a city parks department under a water ordinance that must run watersense-compliant weather-based scheduling are not what Farmers Business Network (FBN) is typically brought in for.
What can Baseline Irrigation do that Farmers Business Network (FBN) cannot?
Baseline Irrigation covers BaseStation 3200, BaseStation 1000, biSensor soil moisture, WeatherAccess scheduling. Farmers Business Network (FBN) covers Seed performance analytics, Input price transparency, Direct input purchasing, Yield analytics.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Baseline Irrigation: Can different sites have different BaseManager tiers?

No. All controllers belonging to a company are set to the same subscription level, which is the main pricing surprise in a multi-site rollout.

Baseline Irrigation: Who owns Baseline now?

HydroPoint Data Systems acquired it in 2016. It is a product line inside HydroPoint rather than an independent Boise company.

Baseline Irrigation: Do I need a subscription for WaterSense compliance?

On the BaseStation 3200 operating in WeatherAccess mode, yes, an active BaseManager Plus subscription is part of meeting the criteria.

Baseline Irrigation: How does the controller reach the cloud?

Ethernet, Wi-Fi or a cellular modem at each site, with the cellular data cost separate from the subscription.

Share

Related pages

More on Baseline Irrigation

More on Farmers Business Network (FBN)

Keep looking

Other head to heads