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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 what blooms within flight range (about 3.7 miles, with nearer land counting more) and when, the gaps in the season, 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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Forage report for 34.7387, -87.0879

Estimated forage here is better than about 100% of sites in Alabama. Against other Alabama sites it stands out most in summer (100th percentile) and lowest in fall (52nd). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (right here, grown 3 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 0.2 mi NE, grown 2 of the last 5 years); cotton (nearest 0.2 mi E, grown 2 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), less than 0.1 mi away. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 95th percentile (spring 93rd, summer 88th, fall 12th)
  • Alabama: 100th percentile (spring 88th, summer 100th, fall 52nd)
  • Interior Plateau: 99th percentile (spring 71st, summer 96th, fall 6th)

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

Season

  • First forage: Feb 1 — Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Dandelion, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard)
  • Main flow: May 1 to Jul 15 — Soybeans
  • Season ends: Aug 31

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 141 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.2 mi SW, blooms early May – early Jul
  • Corn: about 316 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.2 mi NE, blooms late May – late Jun
  • Soybeans: about 93 acres in a typical year, nearest 0 mi NW, blooms early May – early Jul
  • Cotton: about 268 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.2 mi E, blooms early Jul – late Aug
  • Cotton: about 511 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.4 mi S, blooms early Jul – late Aug
  • Soybeans: about 252 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.9 mi S, blooms early May – early Jul

What the honey would be made of

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