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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 42.9612, -88.2482

Estimated forage here is better than about 83% of sites in Wisconsin. Against other Wisconsin sites it stands out most in fall (94th percentile) and lowest in summer (58th). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (right here, grown 3 of the last 5 years); corn (right here, grown 2 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow, 0.19 mi E. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 82nd percentile (spring 73rd, summer 82nd, fall 84th)
  • Wisconsin: 83rd percentile (spring 84th, summer 58th, fall 94th)
  • Southeastern Wisconsin Till Plains: 56th percentile (spring 93rd, summer 19th, fall 89th)

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, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar)
  • Main flow: Apr 16 to Aug 31 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Soybeans
  • Fall flow: Sep 16 to Sep 30 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Garden flowers
  • Season ends: Oct 15

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 28 acres in a typical year, nearest 0 mi E, blooms late Jun – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 48 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi SE, blooms late Jun – early Sep
  • Corn: about 24 acres in a typical year, nearest 0 mi E, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 20 acres in a typical year, nearest 1 mi E, blooms late Jun – early Sep
  • Corn: about 24 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi E, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 95 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.9 mi W, blooms late Jun – early Sep

What the honey would be made of

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