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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 43.7903, -91.8321

Estimated forage here is better than about 50% of sites in Minnesota. Against other Minnesota sites it stands out most in spring (71st percentile) and lowest in summer (49th). 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: open water, less than 0.1 mi away. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 79th percentile (spring 61st, summer 84th, fall 70th)
  • Minnesota: 50th percentile (spring 71st, summer 49th, fall 55th)
  • Driftless Area: 57th percentile (spring 76th, summer 45th, fall 78th)

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

Season

  • First forage: Mar 1 — Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Dandelion
  • Main flow: May 1 to Aug 31 — Soybeans, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar)
  • Season ends: Oct 15

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 205 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.1 mi NE, blooms late Jun – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 1,182 acres in a typical year, nearest 1 mi SW, blooms late Jun – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 49 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.4 mi SE, blooms late Jun – early Sep
  • Corn: about 41 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.4 mi SE, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Corn: about 1,503 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.5 mi NW, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Corn: about 14 acres in a typical year, nearest 0 mi , blooms early Jul – early Aug

What the honey would be made of

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

Things to watch

  • 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.