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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 46.7537, -95.1036

Estimated forage here is better than about 21% of sites in Minnesota. Against other Minnesota sites it stands out most in fall (67th percentile) and lowest in summer (30th). Biggest nearby bee crops: dry beans (nearest 1.3 mi SE, grown 2 of the last 5 years); soybeans (nearest 0.9 mi S, grown 1 of the last 5 years); alfalfa (nearest 1.2 mi W, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: pond, lake or river, less than 0.1 mi away.

Ranking

  • Continental US: 54th percentile (spring 51st, summer 69th, fall 78th)
  • Minnesota: 21st percentile (spring 59th, summer 30th, fall 67th)
  • North Central Hardwood Forests: 11th percentile (spring 50th, summer 17th, fall 56th)

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)
  • Main flow: Apr 16 to Jul 31 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion
  • Fall flow: Aug 16 to Sep 15 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Dandelion
  • Season ends: Oct 15

Bee crops nearby

  • Dry beans: about 66 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.7 mi N, blooms late Jul – late Sep
  • Dry beans: about 31 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.3 mi SE, blooms late Jul – late Sep
  • Soybeans: about 9 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.9 mi S, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Alfalfa: about 58 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.6 mi SW, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Corn: about 47 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.7 mi N, blooms late Jul – late Aug
  • Corn: about 52 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.8 mi SW, blooms late Jul – late Aug

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), Summer-flowering shrubs, Dandelion; 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); extra light amber
  • Whole season (March to November): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Summer-flowering shrubs; extra 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.