Honey bee forage in El Rancho, New Mexico

When is the honey flow in El Rancho?

• First forage: Feb 16 (dandelion, early trees (maple, willow, poplar), roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard))
• Main flow: Mar 16 to Jun 30, peaking late Apr (clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard))
• Fall flow: Jul 16 to Sep 15 (fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), spotted and diffuse knapweed)
• Season ends: Oct 31

Forage available to a colony through the year at the center of El Rancho, 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 Apr 19.

What the honey is made of

• Spring honey (March to June): clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), weedy mustards; extra light amber, likely to set over some months
• Summer honey (July and August): fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), spotted and diffuse knapweed, dandelion; light amber, likely to set over some months
• Fall honey (September to November): fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), green/yellow rabbitbrush, rubber rabbitbrush, spotted and diffuse knapweed; amber, mixed: part of it sets quickly, part stays liquid
• Whole season (March to November): clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster); 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

• Cherries: about 1 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.4 mi E, blooms late Mar – late Apr
• Alfalfa: about 14 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.9 mi E, blooms early Jun – early Aug (grown 3 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 El Rancho

Mostly: Inter-Mountain Basins Semi-Desert Grassland; Inter-Mountain Basins Big Sagebrush Shrubland; Inter-Mountain Basins Semi-Desert Shrub-Steppe.

Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer) 0.04 mi E; creek, wetland or wet meadow 0.09 mi N.

Things to watch

• Bee crops nearby that are often sprayed. Cherries, sweet: insecticides used on about 84% of surveyed US acres (2025); Cherries, tart: insecticides used on about 45% of surveyed US acres (2025). 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 El Rancho ranks

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

About 45% 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

Jaconita 1 mi · San Ildefonso Pueblo 2 mi · Jacona 3 mi · La Mesilla 4 mi · Pojoaque 4 mi · Cuyamungue 5 mi

All towns in New Mexico · 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 El Rancho (35.8928, -106.0856); 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.