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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 44.9366, -93.6272

Estimated forage here is better than about 7% of sites in Minnesota. Against other Minnesota sites it stands out most in spring (50th percentile) and lowest in summer (6th). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 3.3 mi N, grown 3 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 3.3 mi W, grown 3 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: 22nd percentile (spring 42nd, summer 44th, fall 61st)
  • Minnesota: 7th percentile (spring 50th, summer 6th, fall 40th)
  • North Central Hardwood Forests: 1st percentile (spring 32nd, summer 2nd, fall 18th)

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 17 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.3 mi N, blooms late Jun – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 7 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.3 mi W, blooms late Jun – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 19 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.6 mi NW, blooms late Jun – early Sep
  • Corn: about 11 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.3 mi W, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Corn: about 13 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.3 mi N, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 5 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.4 mi NW, blooms late Jun – early Sep

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, Summer-flowering shrubs; extra light amber
  • Fall honey (September to November): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Garden flowers, Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster); light amber
  • Whole season (March to November): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Garden flowers, 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 (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.