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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 44.4454, -92.2802

Estimated forage here is better than about 38% of sites in Minnesota. Against other Minnesota sites it stands out most in spring (80th percentile) and lowest in summer (40th). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 0.3 mi SW, grown 3 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 0.1 mi SW, grown 3 of the last 5 years); apples (nearest 2.2 mi SE). Nearest mapped water: pond, lake or river, 0.26 mi W. 2 things to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 71st percentile (spring 67th, summer 76th, fall 72nd)
  • Minnesota: 38th percentile (spring 80th, summer 40th, fall 59th)
  • Driftless Area: 27th percentile (spring 92nd, summer 15th, fall 88th)

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 15 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Soybeans
  • Fall flow: Sep 1 to Sep 15 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Garden flowers
  • Season ends: Oct 15

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 169 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.3 mi SW, blooms late Jun – early Sep
  • Corn: about 874 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.3 mi SW, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 9 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi SW, blooms late Jun – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 83 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.6 mi S, blooms late Jun – early Sep
  • Corn: about 10 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.1 mi SW, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 38 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.3 mi W, 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), Garden flowers; light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Soybeans, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Garden flowers; extra light amber
  • Fall honey (September to November): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Garden flowers, Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster); 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 72% of the land within a mile is developed. Less room for forage, and more neighbors near the hives.
  • Bee crops nearby that are often sprayed. Apples: insecticides used on about 77% of surveyed US acres (2025). 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.

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.