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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 46.5076, -94.0156

Estimated forage here is better than about 27% of sites in Minnesota. Against other Minnesota sites it stands out most in spring (93rd percentile) and lowest in summer (20th). Biggest nearby bee crops: alfalfa (nearest 2.3 mi S, grown 3 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 2.9 mi SW, grown 3 of the last 5 years); soybeans (nearest 3.5 mi S, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow, 0.16 mi E.

Ranking

  • Continental US: 62nd percentile (spring 77th, summer 64th, fall 42nd)
  • Minnesota: 27th percentile (spring 93rd, summer 20th, fall 22nd)
  • Northern Lakes and Forests: 59th percentile (spring 79th, summer 44th, fall 61st)

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)
  • Main flow: Apr 16 to Jun 30 — Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Summer-flowering trees (locust, linden)
  • Season ends: Sep 30

Bee crops nearby

  • Alfalfa: about 8 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.3 mi S, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Corn: about 5 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.9 mi SW, blooms late Jul – late Aug
  • Corn: about 5 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.2 mi SW, blooms late Jul – late Aug
  • Soybeans: about 2 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.5 mi S, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Alfalfa: about 6 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.6 mi S, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Alfalfa: about 3 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.4 mi S, blooms early Jul – early Sep

What the honey would be made of

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

Things to watch

  • Flood map not checked. FEMA's flood map service didn't answer. Check it directly.

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.