Softwr

Agriculture · head to head

Farmers Business Network (FBN) vs Gallagher eShepherd

Farmers Business Network (FBN) logo

Farmers Business Network (FBN)

Agriculture

Farmer-to-farmer network and marketplace

From
$700/year
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Gallagher eShepherd logo

Gallagher eShepherd

Agriculture

Virtual fencing where you own the solar collars outright and pay only a small monthly connectivity fee

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: 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.; Gallagher eShepherd gallagher does not publish neckband prices, quoting instead by herd size, region and connectivity type, so the ownership-versus-lease advantage over subscription rivals cannot be verified without a sales conversation.
  • They diverge on capability: Farmers Business Network (FBN) covers Seed performance analytics, Gallagher eShepherd covers Map-drawn virtual paddocks.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Farmers Business Network (FBN) and Gallagher eShepherd actually diverge.

Attributes where Farmers Business Network (FBN) and Gallagher eShepherd differ
AttributeFarmers Business Network (FBN)Gallagher eShepherd
Starting price$700/yearOn request
Pricing modelsubscriptionquote
Founded2014Unknown

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 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

Only in Gallagher eShepherd

  • Map-drawn virtual paddocks
  • Audio cue then pulse
  • Solar neckband
  • Cellular or LoRa connectivity
  • Animal location tracking
  • Grazing rotation management
  • Exclusion zones
  • Behaviour alerts

What people use each for

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

Farmers Business Network (FBN)

  • Input purchasingnot Gallagher eShepherd
  • Seed selectionnot Gallagher eShepherd
  • Price comparisonnot Gallagher eShepherd
  • Farm financingnot Gallagher eShepherd
  • Market insightsnot Gallagher eShepherd

Gallagher eShepherd

  • A ranch subdividing a 2,000 acre paddock for rotational grazing without buying a mile of wirenot Farmers Business Network (FBN)
  • A grazier fencing cattle out of a creek line for a stewardship scheme without building riparian fencenot Farmers Business Network (FBN)
  • An operation on leased ground where permanent fencing is not permitted or not recoverablenot Farmers Business Network (FBN)
  • A farm short of labour that needs paddock moves done from a phone rather than a quad bikenot Farmers Business Network (FBN)

Where each one falls short

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

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.

Gallagher eShepherd

  • Gallagher does not publish neckband prices, quoting instead by herd size, region and connectivity type, so the ownership-versus-lease advantage over subscription rivals cannot be verified without a sales conversation.
  • A minimum of about 20 animals is needed to train a mob, which rules out smallholders and makes the system awkward for operations that run many small separate groups.
  • It is cattle only: sheep, goats and deer are not supported, so a mixed grazing enterprise still needs conventional fencing for everything else.
  • The connectivity fee is per active neckband and continues indefinitely, so the collars are yours but the system stops fencing if you stop paying, which is the same dependency as a subscription with a different label.
  • Virtual fencing is regulated inconsistently: some jurisdictions restrict or have not yet ruled on aversive-stimulus containment, and welfare-scheme or organic certifier acceptance varies, so eligibility should be checked locally before ordering.

Pricing, plan by plan

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

Gallagher eShepherd

On request
  • eShepherd neckband$undefined/year
    • Neckbands purchased outright, not leased per head
    • Small fixed monthly connectivity fee per active neckband
    • Fees charged only on active bands

Which should you pick?

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

Choose Gallagher eShepherd if

  • You need map-drawn virtual paddocks.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want audio cue then pulse.
Gallagher eShepherd review

Questions people ask

Is Farmers Business Network (FBN) or Gallagher eShepherd better?
Neither clearly leads. Farmers Business Network (FBN) starts at $700/year and Gallagher eShepherd at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Farmers Business Network (FBN) or Gallagher eShepherd?
Farmers Business Network (FBN) starts at $700/year and Gallagher eShepherd at On request.
Does Farmers Business Network (FBN) or Gallagher eShepherd run on more platforms?
Farmers Business Network (FBN) runs on Web, Ios, Android. Gallagher eShepherd runs on Web, iOS, Android.
What is Farmers Business Network (FBN) best used for?
Farmers Business Network (FBN) is most often used for input purchasing, seed selection, price comparison, farm financing. Of those, input purchasing and seed selection are not what Gallagher eShepherd is typically brought in for.
What can Farmers Business Network (FBN) do that Gallagher eShepherd cannot?
Farmers Business Network (FBN) covers Seed performance analytics, Input price transparency, Direct input purchasing, Yield analytics. Gallagher eShepherd covers Map-drawn virtual paddocks, Audio cue then pulse, Solar neckband, Cellular or LoRa connectivity.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Gallagher eShepherd: Do I lease the collars or own them?

You buy them outright. The ongoing cost is a small monthly connectivity fee per active neckband, not a per-head lease.

Gallagher eShepherd: Do I need base stations?

Not with the cellular version, which uses existing mobile networks. The LoRa version needs small on-property base stations and suits areas with poor coverage.

Gallagher eShepherd: How many cattle do I need?

At least 20 to train a mob, after which groups can be split into smaller mobs as long as each contains leaders and followers.

Gallagher eShepherd: Does it work for sheep?

No. eShepherd is a cattle system.

Share

Related pages

More on Farmers Business Network (FBN)

More on Gallagher eShepherd

Keep looking

Other head to heads