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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 43.8858, -89.7087

Estimated forage here is better than about 37% of sites in Wisconsin. Against other Wisconsin sites it stands out most in fall (91st percentile) and lowest in spring (14th). Biggest nearby bee crops: corn (nearest 0.2 mi S, grown 3 of the last 5 years); soybeans (nearest 0.1 mi SW, grown 1 of the last 5 years); alfalfa (nearest 0.1 mi SW, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow, 0.2 mi NE.

Ranking

  • Continental US: 67th percentile (spring 37th, summer 82nd, fall 82nd)
  • Wisconsin: 37th percentile (spring 14th, summer 58th, fall 91st)
  • North Central Hardwood Forests: 26th percentile (spring 20th, summer 48th, fall 70th)

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

Season

  • First forage: Apr 1 — Dandelion, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Early trees (maple, willow, poplar)
  • Main flow: Jul 1 to Aug 31 — Alfalfa, Soybeans, Dry Beans
  • Season ends: Oct 15

Bee crops nearby

  • Corn: about 655 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi E, blooms late Jul – early Aug
  • Corn: about 169 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.2 mi S, blooms late Jul – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 66 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi W, blooms late Jun – early Sep
  • Alfalfa: about 65 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.2 mi S, blooms late Jun – early Sep
  • Alfalfa: about 137 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi E, blooms late Jun – early Sep
  • Dry beans: about 27 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.2 mi S, blooms late Jul – late Sep

What the honey would be made of

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

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.