It's not too early for corn mazes. A few are already open with lots more on the way. As for fall colors, peep early. And be quick about it. A short, early leaf season is forecast.

State farmers will benefit in two ways: drought has helped to drive corn prices higher, and Minnesota farms are producing high yields compared to farms in other states, where dry conditions have shriveled crops, WCCO reports.

Finding your way through the corn maze is supposed to be the hard part. But for a Fridley family the real challenge came afterwards, while playing in the three-foot-deep pit filled with corn kernels. Karilyn Miller discovered she'd lost her wedding ring. But fate - and a metal detector - was on her side as the ring amaizingly turned up.

The director of the Corn Palace in Mitchell, South Dakota is waiting for a work crew to repair the roof of the popular tourist destination, which was damaged in a May hailstorm. The Associated Press reports that work was supposed to begin in June but has been delayed. The Mitchell City Council authorized Schilling to spend $175,000 to repair the hail damage.

Minnesota's cornfields will average 168 bushels an acre this year, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The Pioneer Press reports this would be Minnesota's largest corn crop in state history and make the state the second largest corn producer in the country -- only trailing Iowa.

According to the USDA's first official assessment of the season, nearly 100 percent of the state's record 8.7 million acres of corn is now planted. As of Sunday, 81 percent of the soybean acres were also planted.

Last July, a Burlington Northern Santa Fe train derailed and more than a dozen railcars carrying corn spilled into Locke Lake. Ten months later, neighbors tell KARE 11 the corn is causing foul odors and attracting more geese to the area. A railroad spokesperson says crews have already removed about 25 tons of corn, but aren't able to remove it all. A bike path that runs underneath the rail line also remains closed, but is supposed to reopen in July.

People still love the catchy old phrase that corn ought to be "knee-high by the 4th of July." But it doesn't apply in a modern-day farming age of genetically modified plants. These days, an elephant's eye is closer to the mark.