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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.

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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 45.4914, -93.2427

Estimated forage here is better than about 55% of sites in Minnesota. Against other Minnesota sites it stands out most in spring (79th percentile) and lowest in summer (49th). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 0.4 mi NE, grown 1 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 0.2 mi NE). Nearest mapped water: pond, lake or river, 0.33 mi NW. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 82nd percentile (spring 66th, summer 83rd, fall 84th)
  • Minnesota: 55th percentile (spring 79th, summer 49th, fall 76th)
  • North Central Hardwood Forests: 73rd percentile (spring 80th, summer 53rd, fall 75th)

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
  • Main flow: Apr 16 to Aug 31 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Soybeans
  • Season ends: Oct 15

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 306 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.9 mi SE, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 140 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.1 mi E, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Corn: about 272 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.9 mi SE, blooms late Jul – late Aug
  • Corn: about 291 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.1 mi E, blooms late Jul – late Aug
  • Soybeans: about 144 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.5 mi W, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Corn: about 87 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi N, blooms late Jul – late Aug

What the honey would be made of

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

Things to watch

  • Heavily developed. About 67% 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.