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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 43.4593, -91.8615

Estimated forage here is better than about 30% of sites in Iowa. Against other Iowa sites it stands out most in fall (97th percentile) and lowest in summer (32nd). 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: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), 0.15 mi N. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 88th percentile (spring 34th, summer 92nd, fall 67th)
  • Iowa: 30th percentile (spring 58th, summer 32nd, fall 97th)
  • Driftless Area: 92nd percentile (spring 14th, summer 90th, fall 61st)

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

Season

  • First forage: Apr 1 — Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard)
  • Main flow: Jul 1 to Aug 31 — Soybeans
  • Season ends: Sep 15

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 1,811 acres in a typical year, nearest 0 mi , blooms late Jun – early Sep
  • Corn: about 6,482 acres in a typical year, nearest 0 mi , blooms late Jul – early Aug
  • Corn: about 303 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi NW, blooms late Jul – early Aug
  • Corn: about 1,008 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.1 mi S, blooms late Jul – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 79 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi W, blooms late Jun – early Sep
  • Corn: about 136 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi S, blooms late 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), Soybeans; extra light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Soybeans, Alfalfa, Clovers: white, alsike and red; white
  • Fall honey (September to November): Soybeans, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Alfalfa, Dandelion; extra light amber
  • Whole season (March to November): Soybeans, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Alfalfa; extra light amber

Things to watch

  • Near a FEMA high-risk flood zone. A mapped high-risk flood zone (A) is within about 300 m. Check FEMA's map for the exact spot.

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.