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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.

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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 44.9628, -93.5850

Estimated forage here is better than about 23% of sites in Minnesota. Against other Minnesota sites it stands out most in spring (78th percentile) and lowest in summer (19th). Biggest nearby bee crops: alfalfa (nearest 2.6 mi N, grown 2 of the last 5 years); soybeans (nearest 2.5 mi N, grown 3 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 2.5 mi N, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow, less than 0.1 mi away. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 57th percentile (spring 66th, summer 63rd, fall 72nd)
  • Minnesota: 23rd percentile (spring 78th, summer 19th, fall 58th)
  • North Central Hardwood Forests: 13th percentile (spring 79th, summer 10th, fall 39th)

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), Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard)
  • Main flow: Apr 16 to Jul 15 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard)
  • Fall flow: Aug 1 to Aug 31 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard)
  • Season ends: Oct 15

Bee crops nearby

  • Alfalfa: about 26 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.6 mi N, blooms late Jun – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 24 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.4 mi N, blooms late Jun – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 12 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.1 mi N, blooms late Jun – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 17 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.5 mi NW, blooms late Jun – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 3 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.5 mi N, blooms late Jun – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 6 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.1 mi N, 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): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Garden flowers; 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, Dandelion, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Early trees (maple, willow, poplar); 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.