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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 47.4950, -95.5417

Estimated forage here is better than about 37% of sites in Minnesota. Against other Minnesota sites it stands out most in fall (76th percentile) and lowest in summer (42nd). Biggest nearby bee crops: corn (nearest 0.1 mi S, grown 2 of the last 5 years); soybeans (nearest 0.1 mi S, grown 1 of the last 5 years); sunflower (nearest 0.6 mi SW, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow, less than 0.1 mi away.

Ranking

  • Continental US: 71st percentile (spring 58th, summer 78th, fall 85th)
  • Minnesota: 37th percentile (spring 67th, summer 42nd, fall 76th)
  • Northern Lakes and Forests: 81st percentile (spring 29th, summer 94th, fall 98th)

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, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard)
  • Main flow: Apr 16 to Aug 31 — Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Clovers: white, alsike and red, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar)
  • Season ends: Oct 31

Bee crops nearby

  • Corn: about 58 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi S, blooms late Jul – late Aug
  • Soybeans: about 16 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.1 mi S, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Sunflower: about 5 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi SW, blooms late Jul – early Sep
  • Peas: about 15 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi S, blooms early Jun – early Jul
  • Corn: about 19 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.1 mi S, blooms late Jul – late Aug
  • Soybeans: about 10 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi SW, blooms early Jul – early Sep

What the honey would be made of

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