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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 47.3002, -96.5161

Estimated forage here is better than about 75% of sites in Minnesota. Against other Minnesota sites it stands out most in fall (89th percentile) and lowest in spring (59th). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 0.4 mi NE, grown 2 of the last 5 years); sunflower (nearest 0.8 mi N, grown 1 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 0.4 mi NE, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), 0.23 mi N.

Ranking

  • Continental US: 90th percentile (spring 51st, summer 90th, fall 97th)
  • Minnesota: 75th percentile (spring 59th, summer 63rd, fall 89th)
  • Lake Agassiz Plain: 47th percentile (spring 91st, summer 31st, fall 35th)

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 Sep 15 — Soybeans
  • Season ends: Oct 15

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 1,973 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.4 mi NE, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 862 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi S, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 148 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.4 mi NW, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 1,104 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.3 mi W, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Sunflower: about 43 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi N, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 430 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.9 mi SE, 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): Soybeans, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Alfalfa; white
  • Fall honey (September to November): Soybeans, Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dry Beans; extra light amber
  • Whole season (March to November): Soybeans, Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Garden flowers; light amber

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.