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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 46.0958, -95.8193

Estimated forage here is better than about 59% of sites in Minnesota. Against other Minnesota sites it stands out most in fall (74th percentile) and lowest in spring (48th). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 0.1 mi W, grown 2 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 0.1 mi W, grown 3 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: pond, lake or river, 0.21 mi N.

Ranking

  • Continental US: 84th percentile (spring 41st, summer 89th, fall 83rd)
  • Minnesota: 59th percentile (spring 48th, summer 60th, fall 74th)
  • North Central Hardwood Forests: 81st percentile (spring 28th, summer 83rd, fall 72nd)

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
  • Season ends: Oct 15

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 2,323 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.2 mi W, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 148 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi SW, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 85 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.1 mi W, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 112 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.4 mi E, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 45 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.1 mi NE, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 293 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.9 mi N, blooms early Jul – early Sep

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); white
  • Fall honey (September to November): Soybeans, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, 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

  • No digital FEMA flood map here. FEMA has no digital flood map for this area. Ask the county, and look for low ground near creeks before placing 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.