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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 46.8653, -96.7445

Estimated forage here is better than about 57% of sites in Minnesota. Against other Minnesota sites it stands out most in fall (84th percentile) and lowest in summer (49th). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 0.7 mi S, grown 2 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 1.4 mi E, grown 1 of the last 5 years); sunflower (nearest 2.4 mi NE, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: open water, less than 0.1 mi away. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 83rd percentile (spring 66th, summer 84th, fall 93rd)
  • Minnesota: 57th percentile (spring 79th, summer 49th, fall 84th)
  • Lake Agassiz Plain: 18th percentile (spring 98th, summer 6th, fall 23rd)

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 Aug 31 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Soybeans
  • Fall flow: Sep 16 to Sep 30 — Garden flowers, Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red
  • Season ends: Oct 15

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 57 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi S, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 155 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.4 mi E, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 45 acres in a typical year, nearest 1 mi E, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 115 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.4 mi E, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 82 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.7 mi NE, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 539 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.4 mi E, blooms early Jul – early Sep

What the honey would be made of

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

Things to watch

  • Heavily developed. About 96% of the land within a mile is developed. Less room for forage, and more neighbors near the hives.
  • 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.