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Bee forage check

How good is this spot for honey bees?

Enter an address or tap the map. You'll see which bee plants and crops are within flight range (about 3.7 miles, with nearer land counting more), when the honey flow comes and when there's a dearth, nearby water, a few things worth checking, and how the spot ranks against random sites in your state and across the country.

Or tap the map. We don't store your address or exact location.

The colors are the national forage map: every square kilometer of the lower 48, scored the same way. See the honey flow for your state and town, the best and worst spots we found, or how the scoring works.

Forage report for 31.2849, -86.2575

Estimated forage here is better than about 92% of sites in Alabama. Spring, summer and fall all rank about the same against other Alabama sites. Biggest nearby bee crops: cotton (nearest 0.8 mi NW, grown 3 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 1.4 mi SW, grown 3 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), less than 0.1 mi away. 2 things to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 80th percentile (spring 89th, summer 33rd, fall 22nd)
  • Alabama: 92nd percentile (spring 82nd, summer 80th, fall 73rd)
  • Southeastern Plains: 88th percentile (spring 82nd, summer 65th, fall 77th)

Percentile among 3,000 random land points across Alabama, scored the same way; land in general, not beekeepers' yards.

Season

  • First forage: Jan 1 — Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red
  • Main flow: Feb 1 to Apr 30 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion
  • Fall flow: Jun 1 to Jun 30 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Garden flowers
  • Season ends: Sep 30

Bee crops nearby

  • Cotton: about 30 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi NW, blooms early Jun – early Aug
  • Cotton: about 16 acres in a typical year, nearest 1 mi NW, blooms early Jun – early Aug
  • Cotton: about 16 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.4 mi E, blooms early Jun – early Aug
  • Corn: about 10 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.4 mi SW, blooms late Apr – late May
  • Corn: about 9 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.4 mi E, blooms late Apr – late May
  • Cotton: about 11 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.6 mi SE, blooms early Jun – early Aug

What the honey would be made of

  • Spring honey (March to June): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Summer-flowering shrubs; extra light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Garden flowers, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Cotton; extra light amber
  • Fall honey (September to November): Garden flowers, Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster); amber
  • Whole season (March to November): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Garden flowers, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard); extra light amber

Things to watch

  • Heavily developed. About 77% of the land within a mile is developed. Less room for forage, and more neighbors near the hives.
  • Bee crops nearby that are often sprayed. Cotton: insecticides used on about 39% 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.
  • Flood map not checked. FEMA's flood map service didn't answer. Check it directly.

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. Honey composition is a nectar-source estimate, not a pollen analysis. Benchmark 2026.5. How this works.