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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 38.9211, -94.3846

Estimated forage here is better than about 54% of sites in Missouri. Against other Missouri sites it stands out most in spring (92nd percentile) and lowest in summer (46th). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 1.6 mi N, grown 3 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 2.2 mi S, grown 2 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), 0.13 mi S. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 84th percentile (spring 95th, summer 72nd, fall 60th)
  • Missouri: 54th percentile (spring 92nd, summer 46th, fall 86th)
  • Central Irregular Plains: 27th percentile (spring 88th, summer 14th, fall 92nd)

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
  • Main flow: Mar 16 to Jun 30 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion
  • Fall flow: Jul 16 to Aug 31 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Garden flowers, Dandelion
  • Season ends: Sep 30

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 338 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.4 mi S, blooms early Jun – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 175 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.2 mi S, blooms early Jun – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 170 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.3 mi SW, blooms early Jun – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 171 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.6 mi SW, blooms early Jun – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 270 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.9 mi S, blooms early Jun – early Aug
  • Corn: about 118 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.2 mi S, blooms late Jun – late Jul

What the honey would be made of

  • Spring honey (March to June): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Garden flowers, Lindens / basswood; extra light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Garden flowers, Dandelion, Soybeans; extra light amber
  • Fall honey (September to November): Garden flowers, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion; extra 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 94% 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.