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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 44.0916, -93.2305

Estimated forage here is better than about 53% of sites in Minnesota. Against other Minnesota sites it stands out most in spring (82nd percentile) and lowest in summer (47th). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 0.9 mi NW, grown 3 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 0.9 mi NW, grown 2 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), less than 0.1 mi away. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 81st percentile (spring 68th, summer 82nd, fall 81st)
  • Minnesota: 53rd percentile (spring 82nd, summer 47th, fall 72nd)
  • Western Corn Belt Plains: 5th percentile (spring 94th, summer 3rd, fall 99th)

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

Season

  • First forage: Mar 16 — Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red
  • Main flow: Apr 16 to Aug 31 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Soybeans
  • Fall flow: Sep 16 to Sep 30 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Garden flowers, Dandelion
  • Season ends: Oct 15

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 246 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.9 mi NW, blooms late Jun – early Sep
  • Corn: about 755 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.9 mi NW, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 673 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.7 mi E, blooms late Jun – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 354 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.8 mi NW, blooms late Jun – early Sep
  • Corn: about 844 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.7 mi E, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 148 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.7 mi NE, blooms late Jun – early Sep

What the honey would be made of

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

Things to watch

  • Heavily developed. About 94% 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.