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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 44.8435, -87.5761

Estimated forage here is better than about 49% of sites in Wisconsin. Against other Wisconsin sites it stands out most in fall (75th percentile) and lowest in summer (47th). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 0.2 mi N, grown 2 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 0.2 mi N, grown 3 of the last 5 years); alfalfa (nearest 0.5 mi SE, grown 2 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow, less than 0.1 mi away.

Ranking

  • Continental US: 72nd percentile (spring 65th, summer 77th, fall 73rd)
  • Wisconsin: 49th percentile (spring 69th, summer 47th, fall 75th)
  • North Central Hardwood Forests: 36th percentile (spring 78th, summer 33rd, fall 43rd)

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

Season

  • First forage: Mar 16 — Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Dandelion
  • Main flow: Apr 16 to Aug 31 — Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Soybeans, Summer-flowering trees (locust, linden)
  • Season ends: Oct 15

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 73 acres in a typical year, nearest 1 mi SW, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 8 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.2 mi N, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 38 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.1 mi S, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Corn: about 21 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi NE, blooms late Jul – late Aug
  • Corn: about 58 acres in a typical year, nearest 1 mi SW, blooms late Jul – late Aug
  • Soybeans: about 10 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi SW, blooms early Jul – early Sep

What the honey would be made of

  • Spring honey (March to June): Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Summer-flowering trees (locust, linden), Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion; light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Soybeans, Alfalfa, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Summer-flowering trees (locust, linden); extra light amber
  • Fall honey (September to November): Soybeans, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Alfalfa, Dandelion; extra light amber
  • Whole season (March to November): Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Soybeans, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Summer-flowering trees (locust, linden); extra light amber

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.