Grant Troop says insecticides won’t do anything to control slugs, but how you apply them can help against these devastating pests.

Although it has been available for several years, an often-overlooked, environ- mentally friendly slug-control product is gaining popularity in the United States and could provide an alternative to metaldehyde- based products for no-tillers.

Meet Jim Bullock. This no-tiller from Worcestershire, England, who also works as a farm consultant, believes that no-tilling is no longer an idealistic conservation idea in Europe, it’s reality. His switch to no-tilling on land his family has farmed for more than 485 years reveals what’s been happening on the no-till scene in Europe.

Thanks to the magic of computers, no-tillers and would-be no-tillers from the far corners of the Earth can conveniently get together. That’s what happened recently, when growers from Scotland, England, New Zealand and the U.S. met at Farmers Forum, No-Till Farmer’s online message board. Here’s how they found common ground.