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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 46.0799, -94.8642

Estimated forage here is better than about 59% of sites in Minnesota. Against other Minnesota sites it stands out most in fall (83rd percentile) and lowest in summer (54th). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 0.2 mi S, grown 2 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 0.6 mi W, grown 2 of the last 5 years); alfalfa (nearest 1.0 mi SW). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), less than 0.1 mi away. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 84th percentile (spring 56th, summer 86th, fall 92nd)
  • Minnesota: 59th percentile (spring 65th, summer 54th, fall 83rd)
  • North Central Hardwood Forests: 81st percentile (spring 62nd, summer 68th, fall 90th)

Percentile among 3,000 random land points across Minnesota, scored the same way; land in general, not beekeepers' yards.

Season

  • First forage: Apr 1 — Dandelion, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Clovers: white, alsike and red
  • Main flow: Jul 1 to Aug 31 — Soybeans, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard)
  • Season ends: Oct 15

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 460 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi E, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Corn: about 157 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi W, blooms late Jul – late Aug
  • Corn: about 220 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.9 mi NE, blooms late Jul – late Aug
  • Soybeans: about 61 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.1 mi NW, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 101 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.2 mi S, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Corn: about 293 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.4 mi SE, blooms late Jul – late Aug

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, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Alfalfa; white
  • Fall honey (September to November): Soybeans, Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Clovers: white, alsike and red, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard); extra light amber
  • Whole season (March to November): Soybeans, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard); extra light amber

Things to watch

  • Near a FEMA high-risk flood zone. A mapped high-risk flood zone (A) is within about 300 m. Check FEMA's map for the exact spot.

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.