It’s a common phrase in the corn-growing Midwestern States: “Knee High by Fourth of July“. It’s a reference to the height of the corn stalks in the growing season.
In reality, the hybrid corn grown in Ohio has often been chest high by Independence Day… except for this year. There has been so much rain that the farmers couldn’t get the seeds in the ground. The photo below is a shot I took on my way to tennis a couple of days ago. There isn’t a height reference in the photo, but this is one of the better fields and the corn is likely just “ankle high”.
