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365FarmNet shutdown: what farms should do by 30 November 2026

365FarmNet ends on 30 November 2026. Which data to back up, which options farms have and why the 2027 duty for electronic spray records matters.

PhytAI editorial teamPublished 6 min read

Key points

  • Date: 365FarmNet will be switched off on 30 November 2026. Expect no access afterwards.
  • Successor according to CLAAS: CLAAS connect. According to KI-Syndikat, 365FarmNet customers get a free transition year there; there is no permanently free plan.
  • Do now: export field boundaries, records and reports and store them locally, whatever software you move to.
  • Duty from 2027: plant protection applications must then be recorded in an electronic, machine-readable format. The new software should cover this.

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CLAAS is discontinuing its farm management platform 365FarmNet. According to agrarheute and agrartechnikonline, the service will be switched off on 30 November 2026, and customers are expected to move to CLAAS's own platform, CLAAS connect. For many farms the date falls into a busy period: autumn work is under way, planning for 2027 is starting, and from 1 January 2027 plant protection records in Germany must be kept electronically.

This article sums up what is known, what you should do now and which questions help before you decide.

What is known about the shutdown

agrarheute reported on 18 November 2025 that CLAAS is discontinuing 365FarmNet. According to the report, CLAAS gave no reasons. The manufacturer names CLAAS connect as the successor, the digital platform it has offered since October 2024. It consists of Machine Connect, Farm Connect, Fleet Connect and Field Connect. According to agrarheute, CLAAS dealers take over support; for questions about moving data, the report names the address digital-business@claas.com.

The overview by KI-Syndikat (as of 12 June 2026) describes the offer for existing users as a free transition year in CLAAS connect. It also points out that the free basic plan of 365FarmNet does not continue there. Anyone who pays nothing today should therefore expect costs from the second year and ask for prices before deciding.

Step 1: back up your data before you decide

A complete backup is worth it regardless of the future software. It is the basis for any switch and serves as evidence if records from past years are requested during an inspection.

  • Field boundaries: in the web application, open Pflanzenbau (crop production), then Verwalten (manage) and Schläge (fields), select the fields and choose Download above the table on the right. The boundaries arrive as a shapefile in a ZIP folder. Do not unzip the folder if another program is to import it.
  • Records: save plant protection, fertiliser and harvest data with the export and report functions of your package, ideally per harvest year.
  • Further documents: data from the agricultural subsidy application, soil analyses and fertiliser requirement calculations. Landberatung Niedersachsen GmbH, the company behind the näon field-record software, lists subsidy application data, soil samples as Excel files and shapefiles of field boundaries as data that can be carried over.

A step-by-step guide is in the article Back up your data from 365FarmNet.

Keep the backup separate from the new software. In Germany, plant protection records must be kept for at least three years and fertiliser records for seven years.

Step 2: clarify what your farm needs

Before comparing providers, a short list of your own requirements helps. Typical questions:

  1. What must be documented? Plant protection, fertilisation under the German Fertiliser Ordinance (DüV), manure, irrigation, evidence for QS-GAP or organic inspection.
  2. Who works with the software? Only the farm manager, or several people with roles, seasonal staff and contractors?
  3. What technology is in use? Machines from several brands, terminals with ISOXML, or manual records?
  4. Which enterprises? Arable crops, vegetables, fruit, nursery, greenhouse.
  5. Which reports are needed? Gross margin, printable field record, annual totals.

Farms that mainly use machine data from CLAAS equipment will find CLAAS connect an obvious continuation. Farms that want to keep their statutory documentation simple and independent of a machine brand, or that grow vegetables, fruit or crops under glass, should look at alternatives. The trade-offs are covered in CLAAS connect or independent farm software.

Step 3: keep the 2027 duty in mind

From 1 January 2027, professional users must record applications of plant protection products in an electronic, machine-readable format. The basis is Implementing Regulation (EU) 2023/564; Regulation (EU) 2025/2203 allowed the electronic format to be required only from 2027. According to the German plant protection services, a PDF does not count as machine-readable. What exactly must be recorded is explained in Electronic plant protection records from 2027.

If you switch now, check:

  • Does the software provide all required fields, such as the EPPO code of the crop, the BBCH stage, the authorisation number and the georeference of the field?
  • Can records be exported as CSV, JSON or XML?
  • Are corrections stored in a traceable way?

Step 4: timetable until the deadline

A realistic plan for the coming weeks:

PeriodTask
nowexport and back up field boundaries and records of past years
by mid-Octoberdefine requirements, test two or three programs
by mid-Novemberdecide, import field boundaries, add the current season
before 30 Novemberfinal check of the backup; no longer depend on 365FarmNet
from 1 January 2027record plant protection only electronically

Trial periods help because everyday usability only shows after a few real entries: how quickly is a spray application over several fields recorded? Does it work on a phone at the edge of the field?

How PhytAI supports the switch

PhytAI is farm record software with plant protection and fertiliser records for agriculture and horticulture. When switching, you can import the 365FarmNet shapefile as a ZIP; the fields are created automatically and a field identifier (FLIK) contained in the file is taken over. Plant protection records check the required fields and export in machine-readable form as CSV and JSON. The first 30 days are free and require no payment details. The detailed steps are in the manual.

Frequently asked questions

Do I have to move to CLAAS connect? No. CLAAS offers CLAAS connect as the successor, but you can choose any other software. What matters is that you back up your data before the shutdown.

What happens to my data after 30 November? At the time of writing there was no reliable public information on whether or for how long data can still be retrieved afterwards. Assume that there will be no access after the shutdown and export beforehand.

Is a PDF report enough as a backup? A PDF is useful as evidence for past years. For importing into new software and for the electronic record-keeping duty from 2027 you need structured data such as CSV or shapefiles.

Sources

This article reflects the situation on the date shown, based on the sources named, and is not legal advice. Laws, approvals, official decisions and the guidance of the competent authorities prevail.

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