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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 44.9066, -92.9241

Estimated forage here is better than about 61% of sites in Minnesota. Against other Minnesota sites it stands out most in spring (97th percentile) and lowest in summer (46th). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 1.1 mi S, grown 2 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 1.1 mi S, grown 2 of the last 5 years); sweet corn (nearest 1.7 mi SE, grown 2 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow, 0.32 mi N. 2 things to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 85th percentile (spring 82nd, summer 80th, fall 89th)
  • Minnesota: 61st percentile (spring 97th, summer 46th, fall 80th)
  • North Central Hardwood Forests: 85th percentile (spring 96th, summer 45th, fall 85th)

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
  • Main flow: Apr 16 to Jul 31 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion
  • Fall flow: Aug 16 to Sep 30 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Garden flowers
  • Season ends: Oct 15

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 1,157 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.5 mi SE, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Soybeans: about 85 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.7 mi SE, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Soybeans: about 254 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.6 mi S, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Corn: about 1,388 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.4 mi SE, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 9 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.1 mi S, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Soybeans: about 34 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.9 mi SW, blooms late Jun – late Aug

What the honey would be made of

  • Spring honey (March to June): Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Garden flowers, Lindens / basswood; extra light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Garden flowers, Soybeans; extra light amber
  • Fall honey (September to November): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Garden flowers; extra light amber
  • Whole season (March to November): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Garden flowers, Lindens / basswood; extra light amber

Things to watch

  • Heavily developed. About 90% of the land within a mile is developed. Less room for forage, and more neighbors near the hives.
  • Bee crops nearby that are often sprayed. Sweet Corn: insecticides used on about 44% of surveyed US acres (2024). Figures are from USDA's Agricultural Chemical Use Survey, matched by crop type from the crop map. The survey counts any insecticide use in the crop year (not seed treatments) and doesn't say when; ask nearby growers about spray timing.

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.