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Agriculture · head to head

Farmers Business Network (FBN) vs Nedap Livestock Management

Farmers Business Network (FBN) logo

Farmers Business Network (FBN)

Agriculture

Farmer-to-farmer network and marketplace

From
$700/year
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Nedap Livestock Management logo

Nedap Livestock Management

Agriculture

CowControl and Velos sensor platform sold almost entirely through OEM partners rather than direct

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.; Nedap Livestock Management nedap publishes no pricing whatsoever and sells through dealers, so two comparable farms routinely pay materially different amounts for the same sensors and there is no rate card to argue against.
  • They diverge on capability: Farmers Business Network (FBN) covers Seed performance analytics, Nedap Livestock Management covers Smarttag Neck and Leg.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Farmers Business Network (FBN) and Nedap Livestock Management actually diverge.

Attributes where Farmers Business Network (FBN) and Nedap Livestock Management differ
AttributeFarmers Business Network (FBN)Nedap Livestock Management
Starting price$700/yearOn request
Pricing modelsubscriptionquote
PlatformsWeb, Ios, AndroidWeb, iOS, Android, Windows
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 Nedap Livestock Management

  • Smarttag Neck and Leg
  • Heat detection
  • Health monitoring
  • RealTime positioning
  • Velos sow feeding
  • Automatic sorting
  • Nedap Now
  • Open OEM platform

What people use each for

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

Farmers Business Network (FBN)

  • Input purchasingnot Nedap Livestock Management
  • Seed selectionnot Nedap Livestock Management
  • Price comparisonnot Nedap Livestock Management
  • Farm financingnot Nedap Livestock Management
  • Market insightsnot Nedap Livestock Management

Nedap Livestock Management

  • A 500-cow loose-housed dairy where finding a single flagged cow by eye wastes twenty minutes a timenot Farmers Business Network (FBN)
  • A sow unit moving to group gestation housing that needs electronic feeding to comply with welfare rulesnot Farmers Business Network (FBN)
  • A farm that wants heat detection independent of the milking parlour manufacturernot Farmers Business Network (FBN)
  • An equipment maker embedding proven animal monitoring rather than developing sensors in-housenot 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.

Nedap Livestock Management

  • Nedap publishes no pricing whatsoever and sells through dealers, so two comparable farms routinely pay materially different amounts for the same sensors and there is no rate card to argue against.
  • A large share of the technology ships inside other manufacturers' branded systems, which means the support you get, the firmware version you run and whether you can access the raw data depend on the badge on the box rather than on Nedap.
  • The system needs in-barn antennas, readers and a processing unit installed and commissioned, so the sensor price per cow understates the project cost and retrofitting an existing shed adds cabling work.
  • Adding RealTime positioning generally requires more antenna infrastructure than basic heat detection, so a farm that starts cheap and wants positioning later faces a second installation rather than a software toggle.
  • Nedap N.V. is a listed company with several unrelated divisions and livestock is one segment among retail, healthcare and security, so roadmap priority for agriculture competes with businesses that have nothing to do with farming.

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

Nedap Livestock Management

On request
  • Nedap CowControl$undefined/year
    • Smarttag Neck or Leg sensors per animal
    • Barn antennas, readers and processor unit
    • Heat, health and rumination applications
  • Nedap Velos$undefined/year
    • Electronic sow feeding and separation
    • Heat detection for group housing
    • Nedap Now cloud access

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 Nedap Livestock Management if

  • You need smarttag neck and leg.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android, Windows.
  • You also want heat detection.
Nedap Livestock Management review

Questions people ask

Is Farmers Business Network (FBN) or Nedap Livestock Management better?
Neither clearly leads. Farmers Business Network (FBN) starts at $700/year and Nedap Livestock Management 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 Nedap Livestock Management?
Farmers Business Network (FBN) starts at $700/year and Nedap Livestock Management at On request.
Does Farmers Business Network (FBN) or Nedap Livestock Management run on more platforms?
Farmers Business Network (FBN) runs on Web, Ios, Android. Nedap Livestock Management runs on Web, iOS, Android, Windows.
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 Nedap Livestock Management is typically brought in for.
What can Farmers Business Network (FBN) do that Nedap Livestock Management cannot?
Farmers Business Network (FBN) covers Seed performance analytics, Input price transparency, Direct input purchasing, Yield analytics. Nedap Livestock Management covers Smarttag Neck and Leg, Heat detection, Health monitoring, RealTime positioning.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Nedap Livestock Management: Can I buy Nedap direct?

Usually not. It sells through regional dealers and through OEM partners who rebadge the technology, so your quote and your support both come from an intermediary.

Nedap Livestock Management: Am I already using Nedap without knowing?

Possibly. Several dairy equipment manufacturers embed Nedap sensing under their own brand names, so check what the tags in your barn actually are before buying a second system.

Nedap Livestock Management: What does RealTime positioning need?

Additional in-barn antenna coverage beyond what basic heat detection requires, which is why it is cheaper to specify at installation than to add later.

Nedap Livestock Management: Does it work with my milking parlour?

It integrates with several major parlour and herd management systems, but the depth varies by partner, so confirm the specific combination before ordering.

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