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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 45.1809, -89.6985

Estimated forage here is better than about 42% of sites in Wisconsin. Against other Wisconsin sites it stands out most in fall (87th percentile) and lowest in summer (45th). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 0.9 mi SW, grown 2 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 0.9 mi SW, grown 2 of the last 5 years); alfalfa (nearest 1.3 mi SE, grown 4 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), 0.1 mi W. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 69th percentile (spring 60th, summer 77th, fall 80th)
  • Wisconsin: 42nd percentile (spring 57th, summer 45th, fall 87th)
  • North Central Hardwood Forests: 30th percentile (spring 68th, summer 32nd, fall 62nd)

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

Season

  • First forage: Mar 16 — Dandelion, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar)
  • Main flow: Apr 16 to Aug 15 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion
  • Fall flow: Sep 1 to Sep 15 — Alfalfa, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion
  • Season ends: Oct 15

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 91 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.7 mi SW, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 16 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.9 mi SW, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 86 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.8 mi SE, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 18 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.2 mi NE, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Corn: about 115 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.7 mi S, blooms late Jul – late Aug
  • Soybeans: about 24 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.5 mi SE, blooms early Jul – early Sep

What the honey would be made of

  • Spring honey (March to June): Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Garden flowers; light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Soybeans, Dandelion, Garden flowers; extra light amber
  • Fall honey (September to November): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Garden flowers, Alfalfa; extra light amber
  • Whole season (March to November): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Garden flowers, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar); extra light amber

Things to watch

  • Heavily developed. About 62% of the land within a mile is developed. Less room for forage, and more neighbors near the hives.
  • Flood map not checked. FEMA's flood map service didn't answer. Check it directly.

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.