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 45.9156, -94.6385

Estimated forage here is better than about 37% of sites in Minnesota. Against other Minnesota sites it stands out most in fall (66th percentile) and lowest in summer (44th). Biggest nearby bee crops: corn (nearest 0.6 mi S, grown 2 of the last 5 years); soybeans (nearest 0.6 mi S, grown 2 of the last 5 years); alfalfa (nearest 0.3 mi W). Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow, 0.23 mi NW.

Ranking

  • Continental US: 71st percentile (spring 56th, summer 79th, fall 77th)
  • Minnesota: 37th percentile (spring 65th, summer 44th, fall 66th)
  • North Central Hardwood Forests: 34th percentile (spring 61st, summer 40th, fall 55th)

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), Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard)
  • Main flow: Apr 16 to Aug 31 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Alfalfa, Dandelion
  • Season ends: Oct 15

Bee crops nearby

  • Corn: about 122 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.9 mi NE, blooms late Jul – late Aug
  • Soybeans: about 17 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi S, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Alfalfa: about 13 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi W, blooms late Jun – early Sep
  • Corn: about 60 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.1 mi NE, blooms late Jul – late Aug
  • Corn: about 22 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi S, blooms late Jul – late Aug
  • Corn: about 36 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi E, blooms late Jul – late Aug

What the honey would be made of

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