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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.

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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 31.7059, -91.4611

Estimated forage here is better than about 83% of sites in Louisiana. Against other Louisiana sites it stands out most in spring (93rd percentile) and lowest in fall (8th). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 0.1 mi SW, grown 1 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 0.1 mi SW, grown 4 of the last 5 years); cotton (nearest 0.7 mi SW, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: pond, lake or river, less than 0.1 mi away. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 82nd percentile (spring 98th, summer 54th, fall 4th)
  • Louisiana: 83rd percentile (spring 93rd, summer 92nd, fall 8th)
  • Mississippi Alluvial Plain: 32nd percentile (spring 81st, summer 35th, fall 25th)

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

Season

  • First forage: Feb 1 — Dandelion, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Early trees (maple, willow, poplar)
  • Main flow: Apr 16 to Jun 15 — Soybeans
  • Season ends: Jun 30

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 6,515 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.1 mi SW, blooms late Apr – late Jun
  • Corn: about 2,441 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.1 mi SW, blooms early May – early Jun
  • Soybeans: about 217 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi NE, blooms late Apr – late Jun
  • Soybeans: about 416 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.5 mi SE, blooms late Apr – late Jun
  • Corn: about 127 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi NE, blooms early May – early Jun
  • Corn: about 91 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.4 mi N, blooms early May – early Jun

What the honey would be made of

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

Things to watch

  • 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.
  • No digital FEMA flood map here. FEMA has no digital flood map for this area. Ask the county, and look for low ground near creeks before placing hives.

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.