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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 45.1726, -93.3864

Estimated forage here is better than about 49% of sites in Minnesota. Against other Minnesota sites it stands out most in spring (89th percentile) and lowest in summer (42nd). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 1.4 mi S, grown 4 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 1.5 mi S, grown 1 of the last 5 years); sweet corn (nearest 1.5 mi S, grown 2 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: pond, lake or river, less than 0.1 mi away. 2 things to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 78th percentile (spring 73rd, summer 77th, fall 85th)
  • Minnesota: 49th percentile (spring 89th, summer 42nd, fall 77th)
  • North Central Hardwood Forests: 58th percentile (spring 89th, summer 34th, fall 77th)

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 — Garden flowers, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion
  • Season ends: Oct 15

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 51 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.4 mi S, blooms late Jun – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 28 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.5 mi S, blooms late Jun – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 15 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.5 mi S, blooms late Jun – early Sep
  • Corn: about 26 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.5 mi S, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Sweet corn: about 15 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.5 mi S, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Pumpkins: about 4 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.5 mi S, blooms late Jun – late Oct

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, Garden flowers, Dandelion, Summer-flowering shrubs; 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, Summer-flowering shrubs; extra light amber

Things to watch

  • Heavily developed. About 80% 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); Pumpkins: insecticides used on about 75% 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.