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Agriculture · head to head

Baseline Irrigation vs Datamars Livestock

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
Datamars Livestock logo

Datamars Livestock

Agriculture

EID tag, weigh scale and livestock data platform behind the Tru-Test brand

From
On request
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.; Datamars Livestock the software exists to sell tags, readers and scales, so its feature depth in breeding, financials and grazing planning is well short of dedicated herd management systems.
  • They diverge on capability: Baseline Irrigation covers BaseStation 3200, Datamars Livestock covers EID and visual tag management.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Baseline Irrigation and Datamars Livestock actually diverge.

Attributes where Baseline Irrigation and Datamars Livestock differ
AttributeBaseline IrrigationDatamars Livestock
PlatformsWeb, iOS, AndroidWeb, iOS, Android, Windows

Identical on both: starting price (On request), pricing model (quote), 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 Baseline Irrigation

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

Only in Datamars Livestock

  • EID and visual tag management
  • Weigh session capture
  • Average daily gain
  • Auto-drafting
  • Traceability records
  • Bluetooth reader sync
  • Treatment and animal events

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 Datamars Livestock
  • A city parks department under a water ordinance that must run WaterSense-compliant weather-based schedulingnot Datamars Livestock
  • A property manager with 40 sites who needs one login rather than a controller key per locationnot Datamars Livestock
  • A site with a history of mainline breaks where flow shutdown prevents a five-figure water bill overnightnot Datamars Livestock

Datamars Livestock

  • A beef finisher drafting cattle to a target weight automatically at the crushnot Baseline Irrigation
  • A sheep producer tracking lamb growth rates by sire to inform ram selectionnot Baseline Irrigation
  • A New Zealand farm needing NAIT-compliant movement records generated from the same scans used for weighingnot Baseline Irrigation
  • A grazier comparing average daily gain across mobs on different paddocks or supplementsnot 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.

Datamars Livestock

  • The software exists to sell tags, readers and scales, so its feature depth in breeding, financials and grazing planning is well short of dedicated herd management systems.
  • A migration to new cloud software is scheduled from January 2026 for Tru-Test indicator and reader customers, which puts historical Data Link desktop records at risk if they are not exported deliberately before support changes.
  • Hardware lock-in is real: the automatic capture that makes the platform useful depends on Datamars and Tru-Test devices, and a farm with Gallagher scales gets a much thinner experience.
  • Software being bundled with hardware means it has never been priced or sold on its own merits, so there is no published cost, no clear upgrade path and no leverage if the bundling arrangement changes.
  • Traceability support is country-specific and uneven, so a farm outside the main New Zealand, Australian, UK and North American markets may find its national scheme is not directly supported and needs manual file preparation.

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

Datamars Livestock

On request
  • Datamars Livestock$undefined/year
    • Historically bundled with purchase of Datamars and Tru-Test hardware
    • Tag, reader and weigh indicator hardware is the actual cost
    • Cloud platform terms changing with the January 2026 migration

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 Datamars Livestock if

  • You need eid and visual tag management.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android, Windows.
  • You also want weigh session capture.
Datamars Livestock review

Questions people ask

Is Baseline Irrigation or Datamars Livestock better?
Neither clearly leads. Baseline Irrigation starts at On request and Datamars Livestock at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Baseline Irrigation or Datamars Livestock?
Baseline Irrigation starts at On request and Datamars Livestock at On request.
Does Baseline Irrigation or Datamars Livestock run on more platforms?
Baseline Irrigation runs on Web, iOS, Android. Datamars Livestock runs on Web, iOS, Android, Windows.
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 Datamars Livestock is typically brought in for.
What can Baseline Irrigation do that Datamars Livestock cannot?
Baseline Irrigation covers BaseStation 3200, BaseStation 1000, biSensor soil moisture, WeatherAccess scheduling. Datamars Livestock covers EID and visual tag management, Weigh session capture, Average daily gain, Auto-drafting.

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.

Datamars Livestock: Do I have to pay for the software?

It has historically been included with purchase of Datamars and Tru-Test hardware. The January 2026 cloud migration is the point at which to confirm what the ongoing terms are.

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.

Datamars Livestock: What happens to my Data Link records?

They need to be migrated to the new cloud platform. Export your historical weigh sessions before the transition rather than assuming everything carries across.

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.

Datamars Livestock: Will it work with Gallagher scales?

Not natively in the way it works with Tru-Test hardware. You lose the automatic session sync that is the main reason to use it.

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.

Datamars Livestock: Does it handle NAIT and NLIS?

Yes, for New Zealand and Australia respectively, generating movement and identification records from the same EID scans used for weighing.

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