Farming Basics vs M5 Ranch School
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Farming Basics
This app provides essential information for new and small-scale farmers. It covers crop details, pest and disease management, and offers tools for calculating fertilizer and irrigation needs to optimize resource use. Users can also receive alerts and find local resources.
- Crop descriptions
- Pest and disease information
- Fertilizer calculator
- Irrigation calculator
- Crop and pest alerts
- Location-based resources
- Event calendar
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The Farming Basics app from Alabama Extension is a gateway of information for small and beginning farmers. The app includes crop descriptions, information about major insect pests and diseases, and general management tactics. It features a fertilizer and an irrigation calculator to assist farmers with saving dollars on inputs. Other features include crop and pest alerts, location services including contact information for additional help, and a calendar of upcoming meetings and field days.
M5 Ranch School
Explore a wide range of agricultural and life skills through engaging workshops. Learn from experts in areas like animal husbandry, outdoor living, and traditional crafts. This platform offers diverse content to inspire new hobbies and businesses.
- Agricultural and life skills workshops
- Expert-led lessons
- Animal husbandry and ranch life
- Outdoor living and traditional crafts
- Multi-format content (video, text, facts)
- Math and science challenges
- Book lists and writing prompts
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An Agricultural Learning Platform by Five Marys Farms. M5 Ranch School has a mission of connecting our members to the agricultural world around us, no matter what your age or where you live! Explore workshops about age-old skills, modern-day lessons, animal husbandry, ranch life, outdoor living, art, travel, and more. Topics include: - Survival Skills - Chickens - Candle Making - Fishing - Tractors and Farm Implements - Flower Arranging - Welding - Canning and Preserving - Natural Herbs and Dyes - Butchery - Working Dogs - Leatherworking - Horses - Beef Cattle … and so many more! Learn from farmers, ranchers, artists, engineers, and teachers from all over the United States and Canada as they share their knowledge and passions with you. Gain inspiration, knowledge, resources, and connections so you can get out there and start a new hobby or business yourself! Each workshop includes multiform content, including: - Entertaining Video Lesson, - Detailed Text Lesson - A-Z Fact Pages (each one is its own coloring sheet) - Variety of Math and Science Challenges, - Book Lists, - Writing Prompts … just to name a few! -- Terms of Use: mightynetworks.com/terms_of_use
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: M5 Ranch School at weekly against Farming Basics's every 2 months. Farming Basics's advantage is monetization model (free vs free with in-app purchases) and iOS requirement (15.6 vs 17.0). On price, rating, ratings volume and ads there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.9 for Farming Basics against 5.0 for M5 Ranch School. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 9 and 6 respectively.
Farming Basics ships an update every 2 months, M5 Ranch School weekly. The most recent releases landed on November 2, 2026 and November 7, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Farming Basics | M5 Ranch School |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.9 (9 ratings) | 5.0 (6 ratings) — better |
| Number of ratings | 9 — better | 6 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Weekly — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free — better | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 15.6 — better | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 93 MB | 142 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 9+ |
| Developer | Alabama Cooperative Extension System | Five Marys Farms, LLC |
Customer experience
Farming Basics
M5 Ranch School
In-app purchases
Farming Basics
No in-app purchases
M5 Ranch School
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Farming Basics free?
Is M5 Ranch School free?
Which has better reviews, Farming Basics or M5 Ranch School?
Do Farming Basics or M5 Ranch School have ads?
Which is updated more often, Farming Basics or M5 Ranch School?
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