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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 47.3401, -93.7929

Estimated forage here is better than about 31% of sites in Minnesota. Against other Minnesota sites it stands out most in spring (78th percentile) and lowest in summer (33rd). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 1.0 mi E, grown 2 of the last 5 years); alfalfa (nearest 1.3 mi E, grown 4 of the last 5 years); clover and wildflowers (nearest 2.1 mi E, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), less than 0.1 mi away.

Ranking

  • Continental US: 65th percentile (spring 65th, summer 72nd, fall 73rd)
  • Minnesota: 31st percentile (spring 78th, summer 33rd, fall 61st)
  • Northern Lakes and Forests: 66th percentile (spring 45th, summer 77th, fall 94th)

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 15 — Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Clovers: white, alsike and red
  • Fall flow: Aug 1 to Aug 15 — Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Summer-flowering shrubs, Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster)
  • Season ends: Oct 31

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 69 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.4 mi E, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 46 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.7 mi SE, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 7 acres in a typical year, nearest 1 mi E, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 25 acres in a typical year, nearest 2 mi N, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Alfalfa: about 11 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.3 mi E, blooms early Jul – late Sep
  • Soybeans: about 7 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.1 mi SE, blooms early Jul – early Sep

What the honey would be made of

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