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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 47.3119, -95.5956

Estimated forage here is better than about 29% of sites in Minnesota. Against other Minnesota sites it stands out most in spring (83rd percentile) and lowest in summer (31st). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 1.1 mi S, grown 2 of the last 5 years); alfalfa (nearest 0.7 mi NE, grown 3 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 1.3 mi N, grown 4 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow, 0.15 mi SW.

Ranking

  • Continental US: 64th percentile (spring 68th, summer 70th, fall 62nd)
  • Minnesota: 29th percentile (spring 83rd, summer 31st, fall 41st)
  • Northern Lakes and Forests: 63rd percentile (spring 53rd, summer 71st, fall 85th)

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)
  • Main flow: Apr 16 to Jul 15 — Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Summer-flowering trees (locust, linden), Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard)
  • Season ends: Oct 15

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 45 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.2 mi NW, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Alfalfa: about 20 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.2 mi NW, blooms early Jul – late Sep
  • Alfalfa: about 8 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi NE, blooms early Jul – late Sep
  • Alfalfa: about 8 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.9 mi NW, blooms early Jul – late Sep
  • Alfalfa: about 7 acres in a typical year, nearest 1 mi N, blooms early Jul – late Sep
  • Corn: about 10 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.3 mi N, blooms late Jul – late Aug

What the honey would be made of

  • Spring honey (March to June): Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Summer-flowering trees (locust, linden), Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Clovers: white, alsike and red; light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Summer-flowering trees (locust, linden), Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Summer-flowering shrubs, Clovers: white, alsike and red; extra light amber
  • Fall honey (September to November): Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion; light amber
  • Whole season (March to November): Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Summer-flowering trees (locust, linden), Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Summer-flowering shrubs; 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.