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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 36.9607, -89.1693

Estimated forage here is better than about 99% of sites in Missouri. Against other Missouri sites it stands out most in summer (97th percentile) and lowest in fall (2nd). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (right here, grown 4 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 0.2 mi E, grown 2 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow, 0.13 mi SE.

Ranking

  • Continental US: 99th percentile (spring 68th, summer 98th, fall 4th)
  • Missouri: 99th percentile (spring 28th, summer 97th, fall 2nd)
  • Mississippi Alluvial Plain: 89th percentile (spring 25th, summer 98th, fall 26th)

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

Season

  • First forage: Mar 16 — Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Dandelion
  • Main flow: May 16 to Jul 31 — Soybeans
  • Season ends: Jul 31

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 7,285 acres in a typical year, nearest 0 mi , blooms late May – late Jul
  • Soybeans: about 5,817 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.4 mi E, blooms late May – late Jul
  • Corn: about 497 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.4 mi SE, blooms early Jun – early Jul
  • Soybeans: about 476 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.5 mi N, blooms late May – late Jul
  • Soybeans: about 232 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.1 mi S, blooms late May – late Jul
  • Soybeans: about 933 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.3 mi E, blooms late May – late Jul

What the honey would be made of

  • Spring honey (March to June): Soybeans, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Early trees (maple, willow, poplar); light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Soybeans
  • 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); extra light amber

Things to watch

  • 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.