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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 44.2056, -93.6809

Estimated forage here is better than about 30% of sites in Minnesota. Against other Minnesota sites it stands out most in spring (56th percentile) and lowest in fall (40th). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 0.4 mi SW, grown 3 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 0.3 mi SW, grown 2 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: pond, lake or river, less than 0.1 mi away. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 65th percentile (spring 48th, summer 80th, fall 61st)
  • Minnesota: 30th percentile (spring 56th, summer 45th, fall 40th)
  • North Central Hardwood Forests: 22nd percentile (spring 44th, summer 43rd, fall 19th)

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

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 879 acres in a typical year, nearest 1 mi NE, blooms late Jun – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 46 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.4 mi SW, blooms late Jun – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 179 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.1 mi SW, blooms late Jun – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 267 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.2 mi SW, blooms late Jun – early Sep
  • Corn: about 382 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.1 mi SW, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 1,320 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.7 mi S, blooms late Jun – early Sep

What the honey would be made of

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

Things to watch

  • Near a FEMA high-risk flood zone. A mapped high-risk flood zone (A) 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.