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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 45.4419, -93.5965

Estimated forage here is better than about 44% of sites in Minnesota. Against other Minnesota sites it stands out most in spring (84th percentile) and lowest in summer (41st). Biggest nearby bee crops: alfalfa (nearest 0.6 mi S, grown 2 of the last 5 years); soybeans (nearest 0.7 mi S, grown 2 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 1.2 mi N, grown 3 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: open water, 0.32 mi W. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 75th percentile (spring 69th, summer 77th, fall 83rd)
  • Minnesota: 44th percentile (spring 84th, summer 41st, fall 74th)
  • North Central Hardwood Forests: 47th percentile (spring 85th, summer 32nd, 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, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar)
  • Main flow: Apr 16 to Jul 31 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion
  • Fall flow: Aug 16 to Sep 15 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Garden flowers
  • Season ends: Oct 15

Bee crops nearby

  • Alfalfa: about 17 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi S, blooms late Jun – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 6 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi S, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 16 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.4 mi N, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Corn: about 32 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.4 mi SW, blooms late Jul – late Aug
  • Soybeans: about 181 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.5 mi E, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Corn: about 317 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.6 mi E, blooms late Jul – late Aug

What the honey would be made of

  • Spring honey (March to June): Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard); 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, Garden flowers, Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster); light amber
  • Whole season (March to November): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Garden flowers; extra light amber

Things to watch

  • Heavily developed. About 59% 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.