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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 46.3972, -94.3659

Estimated forage here is better than about 9% of sites in Minnesota. Against other Minnesota sites it stands out most in spring (56th percentile) and lowest in summer (8th). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 3.0 mi S, grown 2 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 3.0 mi S, grown 3 of the last 5 years); alfalfa (nearest 2.9 mi SE, grown 3 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: pond, lake or river, less than 0.1 mi away.

Ranking

  • Continental US: 27th percentile (spring 47th, summer 48th, fall 59th)
  • Minnesota: 9th percentile (spring 56th, summer 8th, fall 37th)
  • Northern Lakes and Forests: 15th percentile (spring 15th, summer 14th, fall 82nd)

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
  • Main flow: Apr 16 to Jul 15 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar)
  • Fall flow: Aug 1 to Aug 15 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard)
  • Season ends: Oct 15

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 10 acres in a typical year, nearest 3 mi S, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 9 acres in a typical year, nearest 3 mi S, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Corn: about 18 acres in a typical year, nearest 3 mi S, blooms late Jul – late Aug
  • Soybeans: about 8 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.2 mi S, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Corn: about 9 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.2 mi S, blooms late Jul – late Aug
  • Alfalfa: about 3 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.9 mi SE, blooms early Jul – early Sep

What the honey would be made of

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