Some People Don't Know What "Knee-High by the 4th of July" Means

Somehow I ended up on the side of TikTok catering to growing corn. I myself and not a farmer, nor have I ever grown corn, but that doesn't seem to matter. Every time I make a TikTok video about how tall corn is, it seems to blow up.

This week I posted a TikTok about how the corn didn't appear to be "knee-high" yet with only one week to go until the 4th of July:

@abbeyminke No one panic just yet, we still have a week to grow. #fyp #corn #kneehigh #4thofjuly #minnesota #minnesotacheck #farm ♬ Oh No - Kreepa

This sparked a comment section filled with people's general locations and how tall the corn was where they are. There were a few comments though that caught me off guard. I thought everyone knew the phrase "knee-high by the 4th of July" when it came to corn farming. Apparently, that's not universal.

Heather Hilton Osness said:

I feel honored to be included in your inside joke

Karanamiii said:

I have to see if my non-country husband gets this

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Kate said:

I’m in IL and just mentioned to my son the corn isn’t knee high yet and it’s almost the 4th. He looked at me like I was on crack 😂

@LikeStefani said:

Scrolling (the comments) trying to find out what you use corn for at the 4th of July?

According to BASF, “Knee-high by the Fourth of July” is an old adage used by corn farmers to measure the success of their crops at Independence Day. Thanks to advancements in farming equipment, research, and crop science, knee-high these days is actually an indicator that something might be wrong. In Minnesota this year, we had a late start to the planting and growing season. Snow, cold temperatures, and LOTS of rain made getting into the fields harder than normal this spring. A few hot days, and light rain showers and the corn should be back on track. Afterall, look at how tall the corn was last year: