Ohio No-Tiller Doug Utz slashes his pesticide bill by buying on the Internet.

The New Washington, Ohio, no-tiller started purchasing products online 3 years ago and has cut his total pesticide bill 20 percent by using the site, www.XSAG.com. Before making his first purchase, Utz compared local suppliers’ prices to Internet listings.

One of his first bargains was purchasing Pounce in January for $110 per gallon compared to $140 per gallon from local suppliers. Utz bought the pesticide for bean leaf beetle control.

Even though pesticides usually aren’t purchased until needed, “I knew if we didn’t spray for bean leaf beetle we’d be spraying for something else,” says Utz. Other insects such as Japanese beetles and grasshoppers have also occasionally reached economic thresholds on his northern Ohio farm.

Buying Off Season

“Sometimes you can really pick up some good deals,” says Utz. For example, a Broadstrike herbicide bid was $45 on the XSAG site. Utz offered $25 a gallon and paid $26.30 per gallon including freight.

Another frequent purchase is Canopy to control chickweed in the fall. The local price was $45 per pound in season and Utz was able to buy the product online for $30 per pound.

Surfing and shopping online doesn’t take as long as you might expect. The transaction, from logging on to printing the accepted bid, takes about 20 minutes at 48,000 bps. Here’s how the purchase process works.

Utz lists the product he wants. A login is required giving his name and address before…