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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 43.5908, -89.7857

Estimated forage here is better than about 30% of sites in Wisconsin. Against other Wisconsin sites it stands out most in fall (74th percentile) and lowest in summer (37th). Biggest nearby bee crops: alfalfa (nearest 0.8 mi SE, grown 4 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 0.8 mi S, grown 4 of the last 5 years); soybeans (nearest 0.8 mi SE, grown 2 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: pond, lake or river, less than 0.1 mi away. 2 things to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 63rd percentile (spring 61st, summer 73rd, fall 72nd)
  • Wisconsin: 30th percentile (spring 59th, summer 37th, fall 74th)
  • North Central Hardwood Forests: 20th percentile (spring 70th, summer 24th, fall 40th)

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 31 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion
  • Fall flow: Sep 16 to Sep 30 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Garden flowers
  • Season ends: Oct 15

Bee crops nearby

  • Alfalfa: about 68 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi SE, blooms late Jun – early Sep
  • Corn: about 50 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.9 mi SW, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 23 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.9 mi SW, blooms late Jun – early Sep
  • Corn: about 35 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.9 mi SE, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Alfalfa: about 22 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.9 mi E, blooms late Jun – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 16 acres in a typical year, nearest 1 mi SE, blooms late Jun – early Sep

What the honey would be made of

  • Spring honey (March to June): Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Garden flowers, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard); light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Soybeans, Alfalfa, Dandelion; 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, Garden flowers, Alfalfa; extra light amber

Things to watch

  • Heavily developed. About 61% of the land within a mile is developed. Less room for forage, and more neighbors near the hives.
  • Near a FEMA high-risk flood zone. A mapped high-risk flood zone (A, AE) 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.