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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 43.7528, -96.0717

Estimated forage here is better than about 91% of sites in Minnesota. Against other Minnesota sites it stands out most in summer (90th percentile) and lowest in spring (24th). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (right here, grown 2 of the last 5 years); corn (right here, grown 3 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), 0.17 mi SE.

Ranking

  • Continental US: 94th percentile (spring 17th, summer 96th, fall 68th)
  • Minnesota: 91st percentile (spring 24th, summer 90th, fall 51st)
  • Western Corn Belt Plains: 70th percentile (spring 45th, summer 60th, fall 91st)

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

Season

  • First forage: May 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 3,479 acres in a typical year, nearest 0 mi S, blooms late Jun – early Sep
  • Corn: about 3,004 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.1 mi NE, blooms late Jul – early Aug
  • Corn: about 4,470 acres in a typical year, nearest 0 mi S, blooms late Jul – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 1,034 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi S, blooms late Jun – early Sep
  • Corn: about 1,788 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi S, blooms late Jul – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 826 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.2 mi E, blooms late Jun – early Sep

What the honey would be made of

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

Things to watch

  • No digital FEMA flood map here. FEMA has no digital flood map for this area. Ask the county, and look for low ground near creeks before placing hives.

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.