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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 46.6003, -95.5772

Estimated forage here is better than about 57% of sites in Minnesota. Against other Minnesota sites it stands out most in fall (91st percentile) and lowest in summer (49th). Biggest nearby bee crops: dry beans (nearest 0.7 mi NW, grown 2 of the last 5 years); soybeans (nearest 0.7 mi NW, grown 1 of the last 5 years); alfalfa (nearest 1.1 mi SW, grown 4 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow, 0.37 mi NE. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 83rd percentile (spring 60th, summer 84th, fall 97th)
  • Minnesota: 57th percentile (spring 70th, summer 49th, fall 91st)
  • North Central Hardwood Forests: 79th percentile (spring 69th, summer 56th, fall 98th)

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, Clovers: white, alsike and red
  • Main flow: Apr 16 to Sep 15 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Dry Beans
  • Season ends: Oct 15

Bee crops nearby

  • Dry beans: about 94 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi NW, blooms late Jul – late Sep
  • Dry beans: about 141 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.9 mi NE, blooms late Jul – late Sep
  • Soybeans: about 37 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi NW, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Alfalfa: about 154 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.1 mi SW, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 43 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.9 mi E, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Corn: about 62 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.9 mi NE, blooms late Jul – late Aug

What the honey would be made of

  • Spring honey (March to June): Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Garden flowers; light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Soybeans, Dry Beans, Alfalfa; white
  • Fall honey (September to November): Dry Beans, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Soybeans; white
  • Whole season (March to November): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Dry Beans, Soybeans; extra light amber

Things to watch

  • Heavily developed. About 71% of the land within a mile is developed. Less room for forage, and more neighbors near the hives.
  • 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.