Soil to Silo: Delivering Consistent Performance
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Hot and humid are two words that describe the 2025 growing season for Indiana grower Gary Hendrix. A dry stretch in June accompanied by intense summer heat could have threatened the progress of Hendrix’s corn and soybeans, but he is remaining optimistic. As harvest approaches, he’s confident in his growing crop because he planted proven products at the advice of his local retailer.
“We had a dry start, but the crop performance has been great,” Hendrix said. “Things are looking good this season, and we expect some nice yields. As my dad always said, a dry June makes a good corn crop.”
When rains did come in July, Hendrix was thankful he had applied N-Serve® nitrogen stabilizer on his corn acres before planting. A proven stabilizer can help protect nitrogen, which is one of the costliest input investments for farmers. Hendrix and his retailer, Ben Wiatt of Keystone Cooperative, applied N-Serve nitrogen stabilizer to help maximize nitrogen availability for more yield potential.
A nitrogen stabilizer application can help keep nitrogen available in the soil for corn to absorb during key growth stages.
“You want to keep nitrogen in the soil. You want to make sure it’s available,” Hendrix said. “Nitrogen is a high-cost input, so you don’t want to put it on and lose it. Our early application of N-Serve really helped ensure that the nitrogen we put down stayed in the soil, so the corn could take advantage of it during those key growth stages.”
To combat other in-season challenges, Hendrix and Wiatt worked together to determine which management practices would be best to meet Hendrix’s goals of protecting crop health and yield potential. One of the decisions the team made this year was to apply a fungicide.
Wiatt said the high heat and humidity along with winds from the south brought on some surprising southern rust pressure. Southern rust can reduce corn yield by up to 45%,1 and symptoms include densely grouped raised bumps (pustules) that often turn black and appear in the VT stage. Because of this, farmers often confuse tar spot, another yield-robbing foliar disease, for southern rust. Similarly, tar spot was top of mind for Hendrix this season, as the disease continues to spread across Indiana — creating a bigger need for fungicides.
White mold was another concern this year because it has showed up in Hendrix’s soybean fields during previous seasons. To help deter damage from white mold, Hendrix planted Brevant brand Enlist E3® soybeans with strong disease tolerance and worked with Wiatt to apply Viatude® fungicide at the R1 and R3 to R4 growth stages.
By early August, soybeans are in top form on Gary Hendrix’s farm in northwestern Indiana.
“Along with planting products with strong genetics and disease tolerance, we use fungicides to help prevent and combat disease pressure,” Wiatt said. “With Viatude, we get that preventive and curative action to reduce the impact of disease pressure on soybeans. Our focus is to have the healthiest crop in the county. That’s what our management decisions are helping attain.”
Another objective for Hendrix is keeping fields clean. Now on his third season planting Brevant brand Enlist E3 soybeans, Hendrix consistently gets simple and effective control of tough weeds like waterhemp. Hendrix said the results he gets from spraying Enlist® herbicides not only help him have weed-free fields but also make harvesting more efficient.
“If you went back 25 years ago, cutting beans was totally different for me,” Hendrix said. “Now, with the newer technologies like the Enlist system, I can expect to have clean fields. When there are no weeds in my soybeans, it makes it so much easier to harvest. That’s why I will continue investing in new technologies. I know I’m getting the best thing out there to help me be profitable.”
As harvest nears, Hendrix and Wiatt will continue to scout fields for weed and disease pressure and make plans for fall fieldwork. Check back in to Brevant.com this fall for updates.
1Bradley, C. 2025. An Overview of Southern Rust. https://cropprotectionnetwork.org/publications/an-overview-of-southern-rust
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