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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 42.6475, -89.8550

Estimated forage here is better than about 85% of sites in Wisconsin. Against other Wisconsin sites it stands out most in summer (81st percentile) and lowest in spring (45th). Biggest nearby bee crops: corn (nearest 0.2 mi N, grown 2 of the last 5 years); soybeans (nearest 0.2 mi N, grown 1 of the last 5 years); alfalfa (nearest 0.4 mi E, grown 3 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: open water, 0.1 mi W.

Ranking

  • Continental US: 83rd percentile (spring 55th, summer 88th, fall 63rd)
  • Wisconsin: 85th percentile (spring 45th, summer 81st, fall 52nd)
  • Driftless Area: 75th percentile (spring 56th, summer 68th, fall 38th)

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

Season

  • First forage: Mar 16 — Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar)
  • Main flow: Jun 16 to Aug 31 — Soybeans, Alfalfa, Clovers: white, alsike and red
  • Season ends: Sep 30

Bee crops nearby

  • Corn: about 316 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.2 mi N, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 59 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.2 mi N, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Corn: about 116 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi SW, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Corn: about 266 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi E, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 50 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi S, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Corn: about 1,188 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.4 mi N, blooms early Jul – early Aug

What the honey would be made of

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

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.