Arcadia Bees
Nucs Queens About Nuc guide Forage Contact Join waitlist

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 45.2343, -94.9422

Estimated forage here is better than about 18% of sites in Minnesota. Against other Minnesota sites it stands out most in spring (59th percentile) and lowest in summer (29th). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 0.9 mi N, grown 3 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 0.9 mi N, grown 2 of the last 5 years); alfalfa (nearest 0.5 mi SW, grown 4 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow, 0.15 mi SW.

Ranking

  • Continental US: 51st percentile (spring 50th, summer 69th, fall 68th)
  • Minnesota: 18th percentile (spring 59th, summer 29th, fall 51st)
  • North Central Hardwood Forests: 9th percentile (spring 49th, summer 17th, fall 32nd)

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 Aug 31 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Soybeans
  • Season ends: Oct 15

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 1,146 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.2 mi SE, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Corn: about 828 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.2 mi SE, blooms late Jul – late Aug
  • Soybeans: about 26 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.9 mi N, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 28 acres in a typical year, nearest 1 mi SE, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 186 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.6 mi S, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Alfalfa: about 16 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi SW, blooms late Jun – early Sep

What the honey would be made of

  • Spring honey (March to June): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Early trees (maple, willow, poplar); extra light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Soybeans, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard); 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, Soybeans, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard); extra light amber

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.