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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 42.1682, -123.6493

Estimated forage here is better than about 79% of sites in Oregon. Against other Oregon sites it stands out most in spring (82nd percentile) and lowest in fall (28th). Biggest nearby bee crops: alfalfa (nearest 0.3 mi SW, 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: 83rd percentile (spring 98th, summer 58th, fall 34th)
  • Oregon: 79th percentile (spring 82nd, summer 44th, fall 28th)
  • Klamath Mountains/California High North Coast Range: 95th percentile (spring 96th, summer 68th, fall 88th)

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

Season

  • First forage: Feb 16 — Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red
  • Main flow: Mar 1 to Jun 15 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion
  • Season ends: Sep 15

Bee crops nearby

  • Alfalfa: about 1 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi SW, blooms late May – late Jul
  • Alfalfa: about 17 acres in a typical year, nearest 2 mi SE, blooms late May – late Jul
  • Alfalfa: about 2 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.6 mi SE, blooms late May – late Jul
  • Alfalfa: about 1 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.6 mi SE, blooms late May – late Jul
  • Alfalfa: about 1 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.4 mi SW, blooms late May – late Jul

What the honey would be made of

  • Spring honey (March to June): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Summer-flowering shrubs, Maples; extra light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Garden flowers, Summer-flowering shrubs; extra light amber
  • Fall honey (September to November): Garden flowers, Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion; light amber
  • Whole season (March to November): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Summer-flowering shrubs, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard); extra light amber

Things to watch

  • Heavily developed. About 52% 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.