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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 46.4836, -96.0974

Estimated forage here is better than about 55% of sites in Minnesota. Against other Minnesota sites it stands out most in fall (80th percentile) and lowest in summer (52nd). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 0.2 mi NE, grown 3 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 0.2 mi NE, grown 3 of the last 5 years); alfalfa (nearest 0.5 mi NE, grown 2 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow, 0.15 mi W.

Ranking

  • Continental US: 82nd percentile (spring 54th, summer 86th, fall 89th)
  • Minnesota: 55th percentile (spring 62nd, summer 52nd, fall 80th)
  • North Central Hardwood Forests: 73rd percentile (spring 56th, summer 65th, fall 85th)

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: Jul 1 to Aug 31 — Soybeans, Alfalfa
  • Season ends: Oct 15

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 1,624 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.2 mi NE, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Corn: about 1,438 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.4 mi NW, blooms late Jul – late Aug
  • Soybeans: about 18 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.2 mi E, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 1,031 acres in a typical year, nearest 2 mi SW, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 39 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi W, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Corn: about 58 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi W, 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, Alfalfa, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard); white
  • Fall honey (September to November): Soybeans, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), 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.