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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 44.5482, -95.1043

Estimated forage here is better than about 58% of sites in Minnesota. Against other Minnesota sites it stands out most in spring (83rd percentile) and lowest in summer (50th). Biggest nearby bee crops: corn (nearest 1.2 mi SE, grown 3 of the last 5 years); soybeans (nearest 0.9 mi NW, grown 3 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: 84th percentile (spring 68th, summer 85th, fall 83rd)
  • Minnesota: 58th percentile (spring 83rd, summer 50th, fall 74th)
  • Western Corn Belt Plains: 8th percentile (spring 95th, summer 4th, 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, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard)
  • Main flow: Apr 16 to Aug 31 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Soybeans, Dandelion
  • Season ends: Oct 31

Bee crops nearby

  • Corn: about 4,220 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.3 mi S, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 269 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.3 mi S, blooms late Jun – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 473 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.4 mi SW, blooms late Jun – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 460 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.6 mi SW, blooms late Jun – early Sep
  • Corn: about 690 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.4 mi SW, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Corn: about 138 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.2 mi SE, blooms early Jul – early Aug

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), 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): Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Garden flowers; light amber
  • Whole season (March to November): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Soybeans, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard); extra light amber

Things to watch

  • Heavily developed. About 58% of the land within a mile is developed. Less room for forage, and more neighbors near the hives.

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.