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Agriculture · head to head

fieldmargin vs Nedap Livestock Management

fieldmargin logo

fieldmargin

Agriculture

Per-farm field mapping, records and team messaging for livestock and arable farms

From
£3.75/month
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: fieldmargin per-farm pricing inverts badly at the small end: a 30 hectare holding pays the same as a 3,000 hectare estate, so the effective cost per hectare on a smallholding is many times what a large farm pays.; 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: fieldmargin covers Field mapping, 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 fieldmargin and Nedap Livestock Management actually diverge.

Attributes where fieldmargin and Nedap Livestock Management differ
AttributefieldmarginNedap Livestock Management
Starting price£3.75/monthOn request
Pricing modelPer farm per month, unlimited hectaresquote
PlatformsWeb, iOS, AndroidWeb, iOS, Android, Windows

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 fieldmargin

  • Field mapping
  • Offline mobile
  • Team activity feed
  • Job assignment
  • Livestock groups
  • Input and application records
  • NDVI satellite imagery
  • Cost per field

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.

fieldmargin

  • A 900 hectare arable estate that wants field records without paying a per-hectare licence feenot Nedap Livestock Management
  • A livestock farm tracking mob movements and grazing rotation across fields on a phone with no signalnot Nedap Livestock Management
  • A farm manager assigning and checking off daily jobs for seasonal staff without phone callsnot Nedap Livestock Management
  • A mixed farm that wants photos and notes attached to specific field locations for later referencenot 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 fieldmargin
  • A sow unit moving to group gestation housing that needs electronic feeding to comply with welfare rulesnot fieldmargin
  • A farm that wants heat detection independent of the milking parlour manufacturernot fieldmargin
  • An equipment maker embedding proven animal monitoring rather than developing sensors in-housenot fieldmargin

Where each one falls short

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

fieldmargin

  • Per-farm pricing inverts badly at the small end: a 30 hectare holding pays the same as a 3,000 hectare estate, so the effective cost per hectare on a smallholding is many times what a large farm pays.
  • It is not an agronomy platform, so there is no variable rate prescription engine and no nutrient planning to a standard a UK agronomist will certify, meaning most arable users still pay for Gatekeeper or an agronomist's own system alongside it.
  • There is no direct submission route into Basic Payment Scheme, Sustainable Farming Incentive or equivalent schemes, so the compliance paperwork that costs farms real money still has to be assembled elsewhere.
  • Machine integration is limited compared with Climate FieldView or Operations Center; as-applied data from the sprayer or drill generally is not flowing in automatically, so application records depend on someone typing them.
  • Satellite NDVI is confined to the top tier and is standard public imagery, so cloud cover in a British winter means long gaps and the imagery is not a substitute for the aircraft or drone capture that specialist providers sell.

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

fieldmargin

£3.75/month
  • Essentials$3.75/month
    • Field mapping and boundaries
    • Field notes and photos
    • Unlimited team members
  • Plus$20/month
    • Everything in Essentials
    • Job assignment and tracking
    • Input and application records
  • Pro$30/month
    • Everything in Plus
    • NDVI satellite imagery
    • Cost per field and crop analysis

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 fieldmargin if

  • You need field mapping.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want offline mobile.
fieldmargin 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 fieldmargin or Nedap Livestock Management better?
Neither clearly leads. fieldmargin starts at £3.75/month 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, fieldmargin or Nedap Livestock Management?
fieldmargin starts at £3.75/month and Nedap Livestock Management at On request.
Does fieldmargin or Nedap Livestock Management run on more platforms?
fieldmargin runs on Web, iOS, Android. Nedap Livestock Management runs on Web, iOS, Android, Windows.
What is fieldmargin best used for?
fieldmargin is most often used for a 900 hectare arable estate that wants field records without paying a per-hectare licence fee, a livestock farm tracking mob movements and grazing rotation across fields on a phone with no signal, a farm manager assigning and checking off daily jobs for seasonal staff without phone calls, a mixed farm that wants photos and notes attached to specific field locations for later reference. Of those, a 900 hectare arable estate that wants field records without paying a per-hectare licence fee and a livestock farm tracking mob movements and grazing rotation across fields on a phone with no signal are not what Nedap Livestock Management is typically brought in for.
What can fieldmargin do that Nedap Livestock Management cannot?
fieldmargin covers Field mapping, Offline mobile, Team activity feed, Job assignment. Nedap Livestock Management covers Smarttag Neck and Leg, Heat detection, Health monitoring, RealTime positioning.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

fieldmargin: Does it charge per hectare?

No. Subscriptions are per farm with unlimited hectares and unlimited team members, which is why it is cheap on large acreages and proportionally expensive on small ones.

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.

fieldmargin: Can I submit my BPS or SFI claim from it?

No. It holds the records that support a claim but there is no direct submission integration, so the claim itself is prepared elsewhere.

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.

fieldmargin: Does it work without mobile signal?

Yes. The mobile apps capture records offline and sync when the phone regains a connection, which is the main reason it gets used in the far corners of a farm.

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.

fieldmargin: Is there a free plan?

There is a 14 day trial rather than a permanently free tier. After that every farm is on a paid plan.

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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