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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 46.9640, -94.8423

Estimated forage here is better than about 30% of sites in Minnesota. Against other Minnesota sites it stands out most in spring (69th percentile) and lowest in summer (36th). Biggest nearby bee crops: dry beans (nearest 0.5 mi SE, grown 1 of the last 5 years); alfalfa (nearest 0.8 mi E, grown 3 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 0.5 mi SE, grown 2 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: pond, lake or river, 0.23 mi SW.

Ranking

  • Continental US: 64th percentile (spring 60th, summer 73rd, fall 78th)
  • Minnesota: 30th percentile (spring 69th, summer 36th, fall 67th)
  • Northern Lakes and Forests: 64th percentile (spring 32nd, summer 83rd, fall 96th)

Percentile among 3,000 random land points across Minnesota, scored the same way; land in general, not beekeepers' yards.

Season

  • First forage: Mar 16 — Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Dandelion
  • Main flow: Apr 16 to Jul 31 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar)
  • Fall flow: Aug 16 to Sep 15 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dry Beans, Alfalfa
  • Season ends: Oct 15

Bee crops nearby

  • Dry beans: about 37 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi SE, blooms late Jul – late Sep
  • Alfalfa: about 77 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi E, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Dry beans: about 23 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi SE, blooms late Jul – late Sep
  • Corn: about 26 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi SE, blooms late Jul – late Aug
  • Corn: about 43 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi E, blooms late Jul – late Aug
  • Corn: about 17 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi SE, blooms late Jul – late Aug

What the honey would be made of

  • Spring honey (March to June): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Summer-flowering trees (locust, linden); light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Alfalfa, Summer-flowering shrubs; white
  • Fall honey (September to November): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Dry Beans, Alfalfa; extra light amber
  • Whole season (March to November): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Summer-flowering trees (locust, linden); extra light amber

Things to watch

  • 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.