Honey bee forage in Turner, Michigan

When is the honey flow in Turner?

• First forage: Apr 1 (early trees (maple, willow, poplar), dandelion, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard))
• Main flow: Jul 1 to Sep 15, peaking early Aug (soybeans, cucumbers)
• Season ends: Oct 31

Forage available to a colony through the year at the center of Turner, from what grows within flight range (about 3.7 miles) and when it blooms here. Dates are the model's estimate for a typical year; the spring index for this spot falls on May 19.

What the honey is made of

• Spring honey (March to June): early trees (maple, willow, poplar), dandelion, clovers: white, alsike and red, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard); light amber, mixed: part of it sets quickly, part stays liquid
• Summer honey (July and August): soybeans, cucumbers; amber
• Fall honey (September to November): cucumbers, soybeans, dry Beans; amber
• Whole season (March to November): soybeans, cucumbers, early trees (maple, willow, poplar), roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard); light amber, likely to set over some months

Nectar-source estimate (plants weighted by how much bees favor them), not a pollen analysis. Full honey estimate.

Bee crops within flight range

• Soybeans: about 2,568 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.1 mi SE, blooms early Jul – early Sep (grown 2 of the last 5 years)
• Cucumbers: about 95 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.2 mi N, blooms early Jul – early Nov (grown 1 of the last 5 years)
• Corn: about 161 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi NE, blooms late Jul – late Aug (grown 1 of the last 5 years)
• Dry beans: about 54 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi NW, blooms late Jul – late Sep (grown 1 of the last 5 years)

From USDA's crop maps for 2021–2025; fields rotate, so a crop counts by how often it was grown. Listing a field says nothing about its owner.

The land and water around Turner

Mostly: Laurentian-Acadian Alkaline Conifer-Hardwood Swamp; Laurentian-Acadian Sub-boreal Aspen-Birch Forest; Northern & Central Ruderal Meadow.

Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer) 0 mi S; creek, wetland or wet meadow 0.24 mi E.

Things to watch

• Bee crops nearby that are often sprayed. Cucumbers: insecticides used on about 36% of surveyed US acres (2024). Figures are from USDA's Agricultural Chemical Use Survey, matched by crop type from the crop map. The survey counts any insecticide use in the crop year (not seed treatments) and doesn't say when; ask nearby growers about spray timing.

How Turner ranks

Percentiles among 3,000 random land points in each region, scored the same way: land in general, not beekeepers' apiaries.

About 36% of the land here is scored with national averages for its vegetation type rather than measured plant cover, so the wild-plant part of this estimate is rougher than the crop part.

Nearby

Twining 2 mi · Whittemore 6 mi · Omer 7 mi · Prescott 8 mi · Au Gres 8 mi · Skidway Lake 13 mi

All towns in Michigan · National map · How the scoring works

An estimate from public maps (USDA crop maps 2021–2025 averaged, LANDFIRE vegetation), not a survey of the ground. Maps can't see garden plantings, understory density, other beekeepers' hives, or this year's weather. The point is the Census Bureau's published center of Turner (44.1415, -83.7881); a yard a mile or two away can differ, so check your own spot. The FEMA flood map was not checked for this page. Benchmark 2026.5, built 2026-10-19. How this works · All sources.