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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 45.2362, -93.6644

Estimated forage here is better than about 55% of sites in Minnesota. Against other Minnesota sites it stands out most in spring (78th percentile) and lowest in summer (49th). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 0.4 mi S, grown 1 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 0.4 mi SE, grown 3 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), 0.22 mi E. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 82nd percentile (spring 65th, summer 84th, fall 83rd)
  • Minnesota: 55th percentile (spring 78th, summer 49th, fall 74th)
  • North Central Hardwood Forests: 73rd percentile (spring 78th, summer 54th, fall 72nd)

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 679 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.5 mi E, blooms late Jun – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 801 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.5 mi W, blooms late Jun – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 612 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.4 mi N, blooms late Jun – early Sep
  • Corn: about 747 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.3 mi E, blooms late Jul – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 98 acres in a typical year, nearest 1 mi W, blooms late Jun – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 41 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.9 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, Garden flowers, Lindens / basswood; light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Soybeans, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Garden flowers; extra light amber
  • Fall honey (September to November): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Garden flowers, Soybeans; extra light amber
  • Whole season (March to November): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Soybeans, Garden flowers; extra light amber

Things to watch

  • Heavily developed. About 82% of the land within a mile is developed. Less room for forage, and more neighbors near the hives.

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.