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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 38.3211, -85.5259

Estimated forage here is better than about 82% of sites in Kentucky. Against other Kentucky sites it stands out most in spring (98th percentile) and lowest in summer (68th). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 0.4 mi NW, grown 4 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 0.4 mi NW, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), 0.13 mi SE. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 85th percentile (spring 97th, summer 70th, fall 50th)
  • Kentucky: 82nd percentile (spring 98th, summer 68th, fall 95th)
  • Interior Plateau: 87th percentile (spring 96th, summer 70th, fall 96th)

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

Season

  • First forage: Feb 16 — Dandelion, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Clovers: white, alsike and red
  • Main flow: Mar 16 to Jun 30 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion
  • Fall flow: Jul 16 to Aug 15 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Garden flowers
  • Season ends: Sep 30

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 66 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.4 mi NW, blooms late May – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 86 acres in a typical year, nearest 1 mi NW, blooms late May – early Aug
  • Corn: about 16 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.4 mi NW, blooms early Jun – early Jul
  • Soybeans: about 123 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.4 mi NW, blooms late May – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 38 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.8 mi NE, blooms late May – early Aug
  • Corn: about 64 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.8 mi NE, blooms early Jun – early Jul

What the honey would be made of

  • Spring honey (March to June): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Soybeans, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar); 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, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Dandelion; light amber
  • Whole season (March to November): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Garden flowers, Soybeans; extra light amber

Things to watch

  • Heavily developed. About 69% of the land within a mile is developed. Less room for forage, and more neighbors near the hives.
  • 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.