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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 44.5821, -92.6042

Estimated forage here is better than about 45% of sites in Minnesota. Against other Minnesota sites it stands out most in spring (97th percentile) and lowest in summer (34th). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 0.8 mi W, grown 2 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 0.8 mi W, grown 3 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow, less than 0.1 mi away.

Ranking

  • Continental US: 76th percentile (spring 81st, summer 72nd, fall 73rd)
  • Minnesota: 45th percentile (spring 97th, summer 34th, fall 60th)
  • Driftless Area: 44th percentile (spring 100th, summer 8th, fall 89th)

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

Season

  • First forage: Mar 1 — Early trees (maple, willow, poplar)
  • Main flow: Apr 1 to Jul 15 — Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Summer-flowering shrubs
  • Fall flow: Aug 1 to Aug 31 — Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Soybeans, Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster)
  • Season ends: Oct 31

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 81 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi W, blooms late Jun – early Sep
  • Corn: about 91 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi W, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Corn: about 192 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.7 mi NW, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 51 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.7 mi NW, blooms late Jun – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 59 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.7 mi SW, blooms late Jun – early Sep
  • Corn: about 137 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.9 mi S, blooms early Jul – early Aug

What the honey would be made of

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

Things to watch

  • 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.