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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 46.8830, -96.0980

Estimated forage here is better than about 71% of sites in Minnesota. Against other Minnesota sites it stands out most in fall (91st percentile) and lowest in spring (49th). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 0.2 mi S, grown 2 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 0.2 mi S, grown 1 of the last 5 years); alfalfa (nearest 0.3 mi SW, grown 2 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: open water, less than 0.1 mi away.

Ranking

  • Continental US: 88th percentile (spring 42nd, summer 90th, fall 97th)
  • Minnesota: 71st percentile (spring 49th, summer 63rd, fall 91st)
  • North Central Hardwood Forests: 94th percentile (spring 30th, summer 89th, 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, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Clovers: white, alsike and red
  • Main flow: Jul 1 to Sep 15 — Soybeans, Alfalfa
  • Season ends: Oct 15

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 2,254 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi SE, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 897 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.9 mi N, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 157 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.4 mi SE, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Corn: about 1,211 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi SW, blooms late Jul – late Aug
  • Soybeans: about 147 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi W, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Corn: about 382 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.9 mi N, blooms late Jul – late Aug

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; extra light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Soybeans, Alfalfa, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Clovers: white, alsike and red; white
  • Fall honey (September to November): Soybeans, Alfalfa, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Clovers: white, alsike and red; extra light amber
  • Whole season (March to November): Soybeans, Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard); 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.