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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 44.3159, -93.5734

Estimated forage here is better than about 69% of sites in Minnesota. Against other Minnesota sites it stands out most in summer (64th percentile) and lowest in fall (52nd). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 0.3 mi S, grown 3 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 0.3 mi S, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow, less than 0.1 mi away. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 88th percentile (spring 51st, summer 90th, fall 68th)
  • Minnesota: 69th percentile (spring 60th, summer 64th, fall 52nd)
  • North Central Hardwood Forests: 93rd percentile (spring 52nd, summer 90th, fall 32nd)

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

Season

  • First forage: Apr 1 — Dandelion, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Clovers: white, alsike and red
  • Main flow: Jul 1 to Aug 31 — Soybeans
  • Season ends: Sep 30

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 1,624 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi N, blooms late Jun – early Sep
  • Corn: about 1,701 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi S, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 106 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi S, blooms late Jun – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 299 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi W, blooms late Jun – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 260 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi S, blooms late Jun – early Sep
  • Corn: about 1,076 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi W, blooms early Jul – early Aug

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; white
  • Fall honey (September to November): Soybeans, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Dandelion; 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.