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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 38.6260, -94.5071

Estimated forage here is better than about 64% of sites in Missouri. Against other Missouri sites it stands out most in spring (84th percentile) and lowest in fall (42nd). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 0.2 mi NE, grown 2 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 0.6 mi W, grown 2 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), 0.12 mi E. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 87th percentile (spring 93rd, summer 80th, fall 44th)
  • Missouri: 64th percentile (spring 84th, summer 55th, fall 42nd)
  • Central Irregular Plains: 43rd percentile (spring 82nd, summer 30th, fall 60th)

Percentile among 3,000 random land points across Missouri, 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 Jul 31 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Soybeans, Dandelion
  • Season ends: Sep 15

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 162 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi W, blooms early Jun – early Aug
  • Corn: about 110 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi W, blooms late Jun – late Jul
  • Soybeans: about 285 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.5 mi S, blooms early Jun – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 48 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.9 mi SE, blooms early Jun – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 707 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.7 mi NW, blooms early Jun – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 24 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi S, blooms early Jun – early Aug

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

Things to watch

  • Near a FEMA high-risk flood zone. A mapped high-risk flood zone (AE) is within about 300 m. Check FEMA's map for the exact spot.

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.