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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 40.3147, -74.4482

Estimated forage here is better than about 78% of sites in New Jersey. Against other New Jersey sites it stands out most in spring (83rd percentile) and lowest in fall (72nd). Biggest nearby bee crops: corn (nearest 0.5 mi E, grown 3 of the last 5 years); soybeans (nearest 0.5 mi E, grown 2 of the last 5 years); sorghum (nearest 0.7 mi SE, 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: 79th percentile (spring 89th, summer 72nd, fall 63rd)
  • New Jersey: 78th percentile (spring 83rd, summer 75th, fall 72nd)
  • Atlantic Coastal Pine Barrens: 77th percentile (spring 86th, summer 73rd, fall 60th)

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

Season

  • First forage: Mar 1 — Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red
  • Main flow: Apr 1 to Jul 15 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion
  • Fall flow: Aug 1 to Aug 15 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Garden flowers
  • Season ends: Sep 30

Bee crops nearby

  • Corn: about 106 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi E, blooms late Jun – late Jul
  • Soybeans: about 24 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi E, blooms early Jun – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 20 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.9 mi SE, blooms early Jun – early Aug
  • Corn: about 68 acres in a typical year, nearest 1 mi SE, blooms late Jun – late Jul
  • Soybeans: about 6 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi SE, blooms early Jun – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 31 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.4 mi SE, blooms early Jun – early Aug

What the honey would be made of

  • Spring honey (March to June): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Summer-flowering shrubs, 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, Dandelion, Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster); 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 80% 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.