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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 46.8759, -96.3200

Estimated forage here is better than about 81% of sites in Minnesota. Against other Minnesota sites it stands out most in fall (88th percentile) and lowest in spring (63rd). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 0.2 mi SW, grown 2 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 0.2 mi SW, grown 3 of the last 5 years); canola (nearest 1.5 mi SW, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: open water, 0.18 mi W. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 92nd percentile (spring 54th, summer 91st, fall 96th)
  • Minnesota: 81st percentile (spring 63rd, summer 67th, fall 88th)
  • Lake Agassiz Plain: 57th percentile (spring 93rd, summer 37th, fall 32nd)

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

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 736 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.2 mi SW, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 2,784 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.9 mi W, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 1,937 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi N, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Corn: about 595 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.2 mi SW, blooms late Jul – late Aug
  • Corn: about 1,299 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi NE, blooms late Jul – late Aug
  • Soybeans: about 221 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.9 mi N, blooms early Jul – early Sep

What the honey would be made of

  • Spring honey (March to June): Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Garden flowers; light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Soybeans, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Alfalfa; white
  • Fall honey (September to November): Soybeans, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Garden flowers; 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

  • Near a FEMA high-risk flood zone. A mapped high-risk flood zone (AE) is within about 300 m. Check FEMA's map for the exact spot.

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.