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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 47.3800, -94.5980

Estimated forage here is better than about 12% of sites in Minnesota. Against other Minnesota sites it stands out most in spring (59th percentile) and lowest in summer (14th). Biggest nearby bee crops: alfalfa (nearest 3.1 mi S, grown 3 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow, 0.14 mi NE.

Ranking

  • Continental US: 40th percentile (spring 50th, summer 59th, fall 62nd)
  • Minnesota: 12th percentile (spring 59th, summer 14th, fall 42nd)
  • Northern Lakes and Forests: 23rd percentile (spring 19th, summer 30th, fall 86th)

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 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar)
  • Season ends: Oct 15

Bee crops nearby

  • Alfalfa: about 27 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.4 mi S, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Alfalfa: about 13 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.1 mi S, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Alfalfa: about 7 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.7 mi S, blooms early Jul – early Sep

What the honey would be made of

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