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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 46.3725, -94.8138

Estimated forage here is better than about 47% of sites in Minnesota. Against other Minnesota sites it stands out most in fall (89th percentile) and lowest in summer (48th). Biggest nearby bee crops: corn (nearest 0.3 mi N, grown 2 of the last 5 years); soybeans (nearest 0.1 mi NE, grown 4 of the last 5 years); dry beans (nearest 0.8 mi N, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow, less than 0.1 mi away.

Ranking

  • Continental US: 77th percentile (spring 49th, summer 83rd, fall 96th)
  • Minnesota: 47th percentile (spring 58th, summer 48th, fall 89th)
  • North Central Hardwood Forests: 54th percentile (spring 47th, summer 50th, fall 96th)

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

Season

  • First forage: Mar 16 — Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Dandelion, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard)
  • Main flow: Jul 1 to Sep 15 — Soybeans, Dry Beans, Clovers: white, alsike and red
  • Season ends: Oct 15

Bee crops nearby

  • Corn: about 330 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi N, blooms late Jul – late Aug
  • Soybeans: about 105 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi N, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Dry beans: about 94 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi N, blooms late Jul – late Sep
  • Soybeans: about 53 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi NE, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Dry beans: about 114 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.3 mi N, blooms late Jul – late Sep
  • Soybeans: about 12 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.1 mi NE, blooms early Jul – early Sep

What the honey would be made of

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