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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 44.6650, -93.6399

Estimated forage here is better than about 51% of sites in Minnesota. Against other Minnesota sites it stands out most in spring (78th percentile) and lowest in summer (47th). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 0.4 mi NW, grown 2 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 0.6 mi W, grown 3 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow, less than 0.1 mi away. 2 things to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 80th percentile (spring 66th, summer 83rd, fall 77th)
  • Minnesota: 51st percentile (spring 78th, summer 47th, fall 65th)
  • North Central Hardwood Forests: 65th percentile (spring 79th, summer 50th, fall 53rd)

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: Apr 16 to Aug 31 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Soybeans, Dandelion
  • Season ends: Oct 15

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 155 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.9 mi S, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Soybeans: about 930 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.6 mi S, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Corn: about 660 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.9 mi S, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 240 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.2 mi NE, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Soybeans: about 39 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi SW, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Soybeans: about 373 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.6 mi E, blooms late Jun – late 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); 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, Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Garden flowers; light amber
  • Whole season (March to November): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Soybeans, Dandelion, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard); extra light amber

Things to watch

  • Heavily developed. About 55% of the land within a mile is developed. Less room for forage, and more neighbors near the hives.
  • Near a FEMA high-risk flood zone. A mapped high-risk flood zone (AE) 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.