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Agriculture · head to head

Datamars Livestock vs Galcon

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
Galcon logo

Galcon

Agriculture

Battery and mains irrigation, fertigation and climate controllers with cloud management

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: 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.; Galcon distribution and support run through regional wholesalers, so in markets where Galcon has no strong distributor you get the hardware and very little else.
  • They diverge on capability: Datamars Livestock covers EID and visual tag management, Galcon covers Battery DC controllers.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Datamars Livestock and Galcon actually diverge.

Attributes where Datamars Livestock and Galcon differ
AttributeDatamars LivestockGalcon
PlatformsWeb, iOS, Android, WindowsWeb, iOS, Android

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 Datamars Livestock

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

Only in Galcon

  • Battery DC controllers
  • GSI cloud
  • Galileo Cloud
  • Fertigation control
  • Greenhouse climate
  • Water budget reporting
  • Sensor inputs

What people use each for

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

Datamars Livestock

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

Galcon

  • A parks department scheduling roadside and median planting beds where no valve has mains powernot Datamars Livestock
  • An orchard automating block irrigation without trenching electricity to every valvenot Datamars Livestock
  • A greenhouse dosing fertiliser to EC and pH targets alongside climate controlnot Datamars Livestock
  • A landscape contractor managing irrigation across dozens of client sites from one cloud accountnot Datamars Livestock

Where each one falls short

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

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.

Galcon

  • Distribution and support run through regional wholesalers, so in markets where Galcon has no strong distributor you get the hardware and very little else.
  • The cloud software is functional rather than refined, and its third-party integration list is short compared with Hunter Centralus or Rain Bird IQ, which matters if you want irrigation data in a wider asset system.
  • Battery-powered controllers mean battery replacement schedules across a large estate, and a dead battery on a remote valve is a silent failure that shows up as a dead planting bed weeks later.
  • No pricing is published for hardware or cloud subscriptions, and pricing varies by country and wholesaler, so budgeting a municipal rollout requires several quotes.
  • The product range is broad and fragmented across GSI, GSI PRO, Galileo Cloud and legacy timers, which makes it genuinely hard to work out which product line a given site should be on.

Pricing, plan by plan

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

Galcon

On request
  • Galcon GSI and Galileo Cloud$undefined/year
    • Controller hardware priced through irrigation wholesalers
    • Cloud subscription quoted by number of controllers and zones
    • Cellular connectivity charges vary by country

Which should you pick?

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

Choose Galcon if

  • You need battery dc controllers.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want gsi cloud.
Galcon review

Questions people ask

Is Datamars Livestock or Galcon better?
Neither clearly leads. Datamars Livestock starts at On request and Galcon at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Datamars Livestock or Galcon?
Datamars Livestock starts at On request and Galcon at On request.
Does Datamars Livestock or Galcon run on more platforms?
Datamars Livestock runs on Web, iOS, Android, Windows. Galcon runs on Web, iOS, Android.
What is Datamars Livestock best used for?
Datamars Livestock is most often used for a beef finisher drafting cattle to a target weight automatically at the crush, a sheep producer tracking lamb growth rates by sire to inform ram selection, a new zealand farm needing nait-compliant movement records generated from the same scans used for weighing, a grazier comparing average daily gain across mobs on different paddocks or supplements. Of those, a beef finisher drafting cattle to a target weight automatically at the crush and a sheep producer tracking lamb growth rates by sire to inform ram selection are not what Galcon is typically brought in for.
What can Datamars Livestock do that Galcon cannot?
Datamars Livestock covers EID and visual tag management, Weigh session capture, Average daily gain, Auto-drafting. Galcon covers Battery DC controllers, GSI cloud, Galileo Cloud, Fertigation control.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

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.

Galcon: Do Galcon controllers need mains power?

The DC range does not. They run latching solenoids from internal batteries, which is the main reason they are specified where getting power to the valve is expensive.

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.

Galcon: Is there a cloud subscription?

Yes for the connected GSI and Galileo Cloud products. Terms are quoted by controller count and vary by country along with cellular charges.

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.

Galcon: Can it control fertigation?

Yes. Galcon makes dedicated fertigation and greenhouse climate controllers with EC and pH monitoring, sold as separate systems from the field controllers.

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.

Galcon: How does it compare with Hunter or Rain Bird?

It competes on battery operation and price rather than ecosystem breadth. The American brands have deeper central control software and broader integration.

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