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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 44.0267, -89.8869

Estimated forage here is better than about 46% of sites in Wisconsin. Against other Wisconsin sites it stands out most in fall (77th percentile) and lowest in spring (21st). Biggest nearby bee crops: corn (nearest 0.1 mi W, grown 2 of the last 5 years); soybeans (nearest 0.1 mi W, grown 3 of the last 5 years); sweet corn (nearest 0.3 mi S, grown 2 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: pond, lake or river, 0.19 mi N. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 70th percentile (spring 42nd, summer 83rd, fall 73rd)
  • Wisconsin: 46th percentile (spring 21st, summer 62nd, fall 77th)
  • North Central Hardwood Forests: 33rd percentile (spring 30th, summer 53rd, fall 45th)

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 — Soybeans, Alfalfa, Dry Beans
  • Season ends: Oct 15

Bee crops nearby

  • Corn: about 595 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi NW, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 214 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi NW, blooms late Jun – early Sep
  • Corn: about 90 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi S, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Corn: about 128 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi SE, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Sweet corn: about 92 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.4 mi SE, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Alfalfa: about 58 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 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, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Early trees (maple, willow, poplar); light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Soybeans, Alfalfa, Dry Beans, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard); white
  • Fall honey (September to November): Dry Beans, Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Alfalfa, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard); extra light amber
  • Whole season (March to November): Soybeans, Alfalfa, Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red; extra light amber

Things to watch

  • Bee crops nearby that are often sprayed. Sweet Corn: insecticides used on about 44% of surveyed US acres (2024). 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.