Farmworks will work just fine with the data without needing another program such as Apex.  I haven't even opened Apex for a long time and don't use it anymore.  You will need to download and install the necessary files to read the data you have but, after you get that done it will work seamlessly.  The file downloads are free and support can assist you in setting it up correctly.  I have found Farmworks support to be very good.  That is much different than the Trimble experience with support.  Much different.