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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.

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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 44.0304, -88.1637

Estimated forage here is better than about 96% of sites in Wisconsin. Against other Wisconsin sites it stands out most in fall (94th percentile) and lowest in spring (52nd). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 0.5 mi W, grown 3 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 0.5 mi W, grown 2 of the last 5 years); alfalfa (nearest 1.0 mi W, grown 2 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), 0.16 mi SE. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 87th percentile (spring 57th, summer 89th, fall 85th)
  • Wisconsin: 96th percentile (spring 52nd, summer 86th, fall 94th)
  • Southeastern Wisconsin Till Plains: 89th percentile (spring 75th, summer 60th, fall 90th)

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, Clovers: white, alsike and red
  • Main flow: Jul 1 to Aug 31 — Soybeans, Alfalfa
  • Season ends: Oct 15

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 643 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi W, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Corn: about 1,974 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi N, blooms late Jul – late Aug
  • Soybeans: about 144 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi N, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Corn: about 725 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.1 mi SW, blooms late Jul – late Aug
  • Corn: about 170 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi W, blooms late Jul – late Aug
  • Soybeans: about 144 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.9 mi S, blooms early Jul – early Sep

What the honey would be made of

  • Spring honey (March to June): Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Garden flowers, Lindens / basswood; extra light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Soybeans, Alfalfa, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Garden flowers; white
  • Fall honey (September to November): Soybeans, Alfalfa, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion; extra light amber
  • Whole season (March to November): Soybeans, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Alfalfa; extra light amber

Things to watch

  • Heavily developed. About 61% of the land within a mile is developed. Less room for forage, and more neighbors near the hives.
  • 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.