Arcadia Bees
Nucs Queens About Nuc guide Forage Contact Join waitlist

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 44.9028, -94.1992

Estimated forage here is better than about 57% of sites in Minnesota. Against other Minnesota sites it stands out most in summer (61st percentile) and lowest in spring (45th). Biggest nearby bee crops: corn (nearest 0.4 mi N, grown 3 of the last 5 years); soybeans (nearest 0.4 mi N, grown 2 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: pond, lake or river, less than 0.1 mi away. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 83rd percentile (spring 39th, summer 89th, fall 68th)
  • Minnesota: 57th percentile (spring 45th, summer 61st, fall 51st)
  • Western Corn Belt Plains: 6th percentile (spring 73rd, summer 12th, fall 91st)

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

Season

  • First forage: Apr 1 — Dandelion, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard)
  • Main flow: Jul 1 to Aug 31 — Soybeans
  • Season ends: Sep 30

Bee crops nearby

  • Corn: about 7,891 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi E, blooms late Jul – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 2,599 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi NW, blooms late Jun – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 1,708 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi SW, blooms late Jun – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 1,661 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi NE, blooms late Jun – early Sep
  • Corn: about 3,079 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi NW, blooms late Jul – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 475 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 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), Early trees (maple, willow, poplar); light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Soybeans, Alfalfa; white
  • Fall honey (September to November): Soybeans, Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion; light amber
  • Whole season (March to November): Soybeans, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard); extra light amber

Things to watch

  • Near a FEMA high-risk flood zone. A mapped high-risk flood zone (A) 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.