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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 43.6492, -72.3300

Estimated forage here is better than about 51% of sites in Vermont. Against other Vermont sites it stands out most in fall (98th percentile) and lowest in spring (28th). Biggest nearby bee crops: corn (nearest 1.1 mi S, grown 4 of the last 5 years); apples (nearest 2.8 mi SE); alfalfa (nearest 2.5 mi NW, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), less than 0.1 mi away. 2 things to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 54th percentile (spring 60th, summer 65th, fall 67th)
  • Vermont: 51st percentile (spring 28th, summer 62nd, fall 98th)
  • Northeastern Highlands: 67th percentile (spring 43rd, summer 71st, fall 99th)

Percentile among 3,000 random land points across Vermont, 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 Jul 15 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion
  • Fall flow: Aug 1 to Aug 15 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Garden flowers
  • Season ends: Oct 15

Bee crops nearby

  • Corn: about 17 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.2 mi S, blooms late Jul – late Aug
  • Corn: about 13 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.1 mi S, blooms late Jul – late Aug
  • Corn: about 11 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.7 mi S, blooms late Jul – late Aug
  • Corn: about 12 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.1 mi S, blooms late Jul – late Aug
  • Corn: about 5 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.3 mi NW, blooms late Jul – late Aug
  • Apples: about 3 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.8 mi SE, blooms early May – late May

What the honey would be made of

  • Spring honey (March to June): Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Garden flowers; light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Garden flowers, Summer-flowering shrubs; extra light amber
  • Fall honey (September to November): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Garden flowers; extra light amber
  • Whole season (March to November): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Garden flowers, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar); light amber

Things to watch

  • Heavily developed. About 68% of the land within a mile is developed. Less room for forage, and more neighbors near the hives.
  • Bee crops nearby that are often sprayed. Apples: insecticides used on about 77% of surveyed US acres (2025). Figures are from USDA's Agricultural Chemical Use Survey, matched by crop type from the crop map. The survey counts any insecticide use in the crop year (not seed treatments) and doesn't say when; ask nearby growers about spray timing.
  • 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.