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Agriculture · head to head

DairyComp vs fieldmargin

DairyComp logo

DairyComp

Agriculture

Command-line dairy herd management software used by large North American dairies

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
fieldmargin logo

fieldmargin

Agriculture

Per-farm field mapping, records and team messaging for livestock and arable farms

From
£3.75/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: DairyComp the command language interface takes weeks to learn and effectively ties the dairy to whichever staff member knows it, so losing a herd manager can strand the herd record until someone else is trained.; fieldmargin per-farm pricing inverts badly at the small end: a 30 hectare holding pays the same as a 3,000 hectare estate, so the effective cost per hectare on a smallholding is many times what a large farm pays.
  • They diverge on capability: DairyComp covers Command language reporting, fieldmargin covers Field mapping.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which DairyComp and fieldmargin actually diverge.

Attributes where DairyComp and fieldmargin differ
AttributeDairyCompfieldmargin
Starting priceOn request£3.75/month
Pricing modelquotePer farm per month, unlimited hectares
PlatformsWindowsWeb, iOS, Android

Identical on both: free tier (No), 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 DairyComp

  • Command language reporting
  • Complete lactation records
  • Parlour and meter integration
  • Reproduction management
  • Health event tracking
  • Genetic evaluation import
  • Benchmarking exports

Only in fieldmargin

  • Field mapping
  • Offline mobile
  • Team activity feed
  • Job assignment
  • Livestock groups
  • Input and application records
  • NDVI satellite imagery
  • Cost per field

What people use each for

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

DairyComp

  • A 3,000 cow freestall dairy whose herd manager needs to build an arbitrary cull or breeding cohort in secondsnot fieldmargin
  • A dairy consultant working across a dozen client herds who needs identical reporting on all of themnot fieldmargin
  • A dairy integrating parlour milk weights and conductivity into the animal record for early mastitis detectionnot fieldmargin
  • A veterinary practice running repro audits and protocol compliance checks across a client basenot fieldmargin

fieldmargin

  • A 900 hectare arable estate that wants field records without paying a per-hectare licence feenot DairyComp
  • A livestock farm tracking mob movements and grazing rotation across fields on a phone with no signalnot DairyComp
  • A farm manager assigning and checking off daily jobs for seasonal staff without phone callsnot DairyComp
  • A mixed farm that wants photos and notes attached to specific field locations for later referencenot DairyComp

Where each one falls short

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

DairyComp

  • The command language interface takes weeks to learn and effectively ties the dairy to whichever staff member knows it, so losing a herd manager can strand the herd record until someone else is trained.
  • It is a Windows desktop application at heart rather than a cloud service, so multi-site access, remote working and mobile data entry are bolt-ons rather than native, and back-ups are the dairy's own problem.
  • Zoetis ownership puts a pharmaceutical company in control of every treatment record on the farm and biases the integration roadmap towards Zoetis sensors and services rather than the best available.
  • No pricing is published anywhere, so herd-size-based quotes vary by dealer and there is no way to benchmark what you are being charged without asking neighbouring dairies.
  • It assumes North American dairy conventions, so European dairies dealing with different milk recording bodies, national herd databases and statutory reporting formats find the fit poor and often need local software alongside.

fieldmargin

  • Per-farm pricing inverts badly at the small end: a 30 hectare holding pays the same as a 3,000 hectare estate, so the effective cost per hectare on a smallholding is many times what a large farm pays.
  • It is not an agronomy platform, so there is no variable rate prescription engine and no nutrient planning to a standard a UK agronomist will certify, meaning most arable users still pay for Gatekeeper or an agronomist's own system alongside it.
  • There is no direct submission route into Basic Payment Scheme, Sustainable Farming Incentive or equivalent schemes, so the compliance paperwork that costs farms real money still has to be assembled elsewhere.
  • Machine integration is limited compared with Climate FieldView or Operations Center; as-applied data from the sprayer or drill generally is not flowing in automatically, so application records depend on someone typing them.
  • Satellite NDVI is confined to the top tier and is standard public imagery, so cloud cover in a British winter means long gaps and the imagery is not a substitute for the aircraft or drone capture that specialist providers sell.

Pricing, plan by plan

DairyComp

On request
  • DairyComp$undefined/year
    • Licensed per dairy, priced on herd size
    • Support and update contract quoted separately
    • Parlour and meter interface modules quoted per system

fieldmargin

£3.75/month
  • Essentials$3.75/month
    • Field mapping and boundaries
    • Field notes and photos
    • Unlimited team members
  • Plus$20/month
    • Everything in Essentials
    • Job assignment and tracking
    • Input and application records
  • Pro$30/month
    • Everything in Plus
    • NDVI satellite imagery
    • Cost per field and crop analysis

Which should you pick?

Choose DairyComp if

  • You need command language reporting.
  • You work on Windows.
  • You also want complete lactation records.
DairyComp review

Choose fieldmargin if

  • You need field mapping.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want offline mobile.
fieldmargin review

Questions people ask

Is DairyComp or fieldmargin better?
Neither clearly leads. DairyComp starts at On request and fieldmargin at £3.75/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, DairyComp or fieldmargin?
DairyComp starts at On request and fieldmargin at £3.75/month.
Does DairyComp or fieldmargin run on more platforms?
DairyComp runs on Windows. fieldmargin runs on Web, iOS, Android.
What is DairyComp best used for?
DairyComp is most often used for a 3,000 cow freestall dairy whose herd manager needs to build an arbitrary cull or breeding cohort in seconds, a dairy consultant working across a dozen client herds who needs identical reporting on all of them, a dairy integrating parlour milk weights and conductivity into the animal record for early mastitis detection, a veterinary practice running repro audits and protocol compliance checks across a client base. Of those, a 3,000 cow freestall dairy whose herd manager needs to build an arbitrary cull or breeding cohort in seconds and a dairy consultant working across a dozen client herds who needs identical reporting on all of them are not what fieldmargin is typically brought in for.
What can DairyComp do that fieldmargin cannot?
DairyComp covers Command language reporting, Complete lactation records, Parlour and meter integration, Reproduction management. fieldmargin covers Field mapping, Offline mobile, Team activity feed, Job assignment.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

DairyComp: Who owns DairyComp now?

Zoetis, through its acquisition of Valley Agricultural Software. It sits in the same portfolio as the Smartbow cow monitoring system.

fieldmargin: Does it charge per hectare?

No. Subscriptions are per farm with unlimited hectares and unlimited team members, which is why it is cheap on large acreages and proportionally expensive on small ones.

DairyComp: Is it hard to learn?

Yes, genuinely. It is driven by a typed command language rather than menus, and most new users need weeks of practice before they are productive.

fieldmargin: Can I submit my BPS or SFI claim from it?

No. It holds the records that support a claim but there is no direct submission integration, so the claim itself is prepared elsewhere.

DairyComp: Does it run in the cloud?

It is fundamentally a Windows application. Hosted and multi-site arrangements exist but the software is not a browser-native cloud product.

fieldmargin: Does it work without mobile signal?

Yes. The mobile apps capture records offline and sync when the phone regains a connection, which is the main reason it gets used in the far corners of a farm.

DairyComp: What does it cost?

Nothing is published. Pricing is quoted per dairy based on herd size, plus separate charges for support and for each parlour or meter interface.

fieldmargin: Is there a free plan?

There is a 14 day trial rather than a permanently free tier. After that every farm is on a paid plan.

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