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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 43.1083, -89.5074

Estimated forage here is better than about 63% of sites in Wisconsin. Against other Wisconsin sites it stands out most in fall (81st percentile) and lowest in summer (51st). Biggest nearby bee crops: corn (nearest 0.7 mi N, grown 4 of the last 5 years); alfalfa (nearest 0.8 mi N, grown 2 of the last 5 years); soybeans (nearest 1.4 mi NW, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), 0.22 mi S. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 76th percentile (spring 67th, summer 79th, fall 76th)
  • Wisconsin: 63rd percentile (spring 74th, summer 51st, fall 81st)
  • Southeastern Wisconsin Till Plains: 20th percentile (spring 88th, summer 12th, fall 66th)

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
  • Main flow: Apr 16 to Aug 15 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Alfalfa
  • Fall flow: Sep 1 to Sep 15 — Garden flowers, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion
  • Season ends: Oct 15

Bee crops nearby

  • Corn: about 2,659 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.9 mi NW, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Corn: about 265 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.9 mi NE, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Alfalfa: about 861 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.7 mi N, blooms late Jun – early Sep
  • Alfalfa: about 71 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.9 mi NW, blooms late Jun – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 70 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.5 mi N, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Corn: about 1,117 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.2 mi N, blooms early Jul – early Aug

What the honey would be made of

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

Things to watch

  • Heavily developed. About 84% 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.