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Agriculture · head to head

Farmers Business Network (FBN) vs GEA DairyNet

Farmers Business Network (FBN) logo

Farmers Business Network (FBN)

Agriculture

Farmer-to-farmer network and marketplace

From
$700/year
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
GEA DairyNet logo

GEA DairyNet

Agriculture

Modular herd and farm management software for dairies running GEA milking equipment

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.; GEA DairyNet the value depends on GEA hardware, so a barn with mixed-vendor parlours, sensors or feeders loses most of the native integration that justifies the software.
  • They diverge on capability: Farmers Business Network (FBN) covers Seed performance analytics, GEA DairyNet covers Herd module.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Farmers Business Network (FBN) and GEA DairyNet actually diverge.

Attributes where Farmers Business Network (FBN) and GEA DairyNet differ
AttributeFarmers Business Network (FBN)GEA DairyNet
Starting price$700/yearOn request
Pricing modelsubscriptionquote
PlatformsWeb, Ios, AndroidWindows, Web, iOS, Android
Founded2014Unknown

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 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 GEA DairyNet

  • Herd module
  • System monitoring
  • CowScout integration
  • Feeding module
  • Youngstock module
  • Cloud data history
  • Modular subscription

What people use each for

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

Farmers Business Network (FBN)

  • Input purchasingnot GEA DairyNet
  • Seed selectionnot GEA DairyNet
  • Price comparisonnot GEA DairyNet
  • Farm financingnot GEA DairyNet
  • Market insightsnot GEA DairyNet

GEA DairyNet

  • A dairy replacing an ageing DairyPlan C21 installation on existing GEA milking equipmentnot Farmers Business Network (FBN)
  • A robot barn running DairyRobot R9500 boxes that wants robot data and herd records in one placenot Farmers Business Network (FBN)
  • A dairy adding CowScout activity monitoring and needing heat alerts to land in the herd software automaticallynot Farmers Business Network (FBN)
  • A herd manager who wants to pay for a youngstock module covering only the heifers rather than the whole herdnot 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.

GEA DairyNet

  • The value depends on GEA hardware, so a barn with mixed-vendor parlours, sensors or feeders loses most of the native integration that justifies the software.
  • Nothing is published: not module prices, not per-animal rates, not installation costs, so every comparison against DeLaval or Lely requires a dealer quote and there is no way to sanity check it.
  • Per-module per-animal pricing is granular but also means costs climb quietly as you add modules and grow the herd, and the monthly cancellation option does not help once the barn depends on a module.
  • It is a successor to DairyPlan C21 rather than a rewrite of the category, so dairies migrating carry across conventions and data structures that predate cloud software and the transition itself needs dealer time.
  • GEA sells only through authorised partners, so support quality, installation competence and how quickly you get a fault fixed are determined by your regional dealer rather than by GEA.

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

GEA DairyNet

On request
  • GEA DairyNet$undefined/month
    • Priced per module, by the number of animals using that module
    • Modules can be cancelled monthly
    • One-time cost for sensors, system technology and installation quoted separately

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 GEA DairyNet if

  • You need herd module.
  • You work on Windows, Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want system monitoring.
GEA DairyNet review

Questions people ask

Is Farmers Business Network (FBN) or GEA DairyNet better?
Neither clearly leads. Farmers Business Network (FBN) starts at $700/year and GEA DairyNet 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 GEA DairyNet?
Farmers Business Network (FBN) starts at $700/year and GEA DairyNet at On request.
Does Farmers Business Network (FBN) or GEA DairyNet run on more platforms?
Farmers Business Network (FBN) runs on Web, Ios, Android. GEA DairyNet runs on Windows, 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 GEA DairyNet is typically brought in for.
What can Farmers Business Network (FBN) do that GEA DairyNet cannot?
Farmers Business Network (FBN) covers Seed performance analytics, Input price transparency, Direct input purchasing, Yield analytics. GEA DairyNet covers Herd module, System monitoring, CowScout integration, Feeding module.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

GEA DairyNet: Does DairyNet replace DairyPlan C21?

Yes. It is the successor product, built on the same decades of DairyPlan development but restructured into cloud-connected modules.

GEA DairyNet: How is it priced?

Per module, with each module priced on the number of animals actually using that module's functions. Modules can be cancelled monthly. No rates are published.

GEA DairyNet: Will it work with non-GEA milking equipment?

Basic herd records will, but the sensor, robot and parlour integrations that make it worth buying are GEA-specific.

GEA DairyNet: Is the software cost the main expense?

No. The one-time investment in sensors, system technology and installation is the larger figure, and it is quoted separately by the sales partner.

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