Honey bee forage in Turley, New Mexico

When is the honey flow in Turley?

• First forage: Mar 1 (dandelion, clovers: white, alsike and red, early trees (maple, willow, poplar))
• Main flow: Apr 1 to Jul 15, peaking late Apr (clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion)
• Fall flow: Aug 1 to Sep 30 (green/yellow rabbitbrush, clovers: white, alsike and red, rubber rabbitbrush)
• Season ends: Oct 31

Forage available to a colony through the year at the center of Turley, 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 24.

What the honey is made of

• Spring honey (March to June): clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion, spring-flowering shrubs, native wildflowers; extra light amber, likely to set over some months
• Summer honey (July and August): clovers: white, alsike and red, spotted and diffuse knapweed, green/yellow rabbitbrush, dandelion; light amber, likely to set over some months
• Fall honey (September to November): green/yellow rabbitbrush, rubber rabbitbrush, rabbitbrush, clovers: white, alsike and red; amber, likely to set over some months
• Whole season (March to November): clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion, green/yellow rabbitbrush, spotted and diffuse knapweed; 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

• Alfalfa: about 6 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.7 mi NE, blooms early Jun – early Aug (grown 1 of the last 5 years)
• Sweet corn: about 1 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.1 mi NW, blooms early Jul – late Aug (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 Turley

Mostly: Colorado Plateau Pinyon-Juniper Shrubland; 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) 0.15 mi N; pond, lake or river 0.42 mi N.

Things to watch

• Bee crops nearby that are often sprayed. Sweet Corn: insecticides used on about 44% 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 Turley ranks

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

About 50% 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

Blanco 2 mi · Sullivan 7 mi · Angustura 7 mi · Bloomfield 10 mi · Aztec 11 mi · Center Point 13 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 Turley (36.7367, -107.7921); 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.