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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 37.0063, -85.9248

Estimated forage here is better than about 58% of sites in Kentucky. Against other Kentucky sites it stands out most in spring (79th percentile) and lowest in fall (45th). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 1.3 mi NE, grown 2 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 1.2 mi W, grown 1 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: 74th percentile (spring 92nd, summer 61st, fall 32nd)
  • Kentucky: 58th percentile (spring 79th, summer 55th, fall 45th)
  • Interior Plateau: 51st percentile (spring 67th, summer 55th, fall 45th)

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

Season

  • First forage: Feb 1 — Dandelion, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar)
  • Main flow: Mar 1 to Jun 15 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion
  • Fall flow: Jul 1 to Jul 31 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Garden flowers
  • Season ends: Sep 30

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 305 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.9 mi N, blooms late May – late Jul
  • Soybeans: about 32 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.4 mi SW, blooms late May – late Jul
  • Soybeans: about 56 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.8 mi E, blooms late May – late Jul
  • Soybeans: about 27 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.7 mi NE, blooms late May – late Jul
  • Soybeans: about 28 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.7 mi N, blooms late May – late Jul
  • Corn: about 21 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.4 mi SW, blooms early Jun – early Jul

What the honey would be made of

  • Spring honey (March to June): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Garden flowers, Soybeans; extra light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Garden flowers, Soybeans; 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, Soybeans; extra light amber

Things to watch

  • Heavily developed. About 82% of the land within a mile is developed. Less room for forage, and more neighbors near the 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.