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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 38.5132, -85.2304

Estimated forage here is better than about 60% of sites in Kentucky. Against other Kentucky sites it stands out most in spring (85th percentile) and lowest in summer (55th). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 1.1 mi NE, grown 3 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 0.4 mi NE, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: pond, lake or river, less than 0.1 mi away.

Ranking

  • Continental US: 75th percentile (spring 93rd, summer 59th, fall 42nd)
  • Kentucky: 60th percentile (spring 85th, summer 55th, fall 76th)
  • Interior Plateau: 53rd percentile (spring 73rd, summer 53rd, fall 80th)

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)
  • Main flow: Mar 16 to Jun 30 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar)
  • Season ends: Sep 15

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 32 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.2 mi SW, blooms early Jun – early Aug
  • Corn: about 5 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.4 mi NE, blooms late Jun – late Jul
  • Corn: about 18 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.2 mi SW, blooms late Jun – late Jul
  • Soybeans: about 10 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.4 mi S, blooms early Jun – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 8 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.6 mi SW, blooms early Jun – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 10 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.8 mi SW, blooms early Jun – early Aug

What the honey would be made of

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

Things to watch

  • 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.