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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 47.5057, -94.9976

Estimated forage here is better than about 26% of sites in Minnesota. Against other Minnesota sites it stands out most in spring (70th percentile) and lowest in summer (32nd). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 2.0 mi SE, grown 1 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 2.0 mi SE, grown 1 of the last 5 years); alfalfa (nearest 1.7 mi NE, grown 2 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow, 0.12 mi E.

Ranking

  • Continental US: 61st percentile (spring 60th, summer 71st, fall 71st)
  • Minnesota: 26th percentile (spring 70th, summer 32nd, fall 56th)
  • Northern Lakes and Forests: 54th percentile (spring 33rd, summer 74th, fall 92nd)

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), Clovers: white, alsike and red, Summer-flowering trees (locust, linden)
  • Fall flow: Aug 1 to Aug 15 — Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Summer-flowering shrubs, Clovers: white, alsike and red
  • Season ends: Oct 15

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 169 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.6 mi S, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Corn: about 118 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.6 mi S, blooms late Jul – late Aug
  • Soybeans: about 5 acres in a typical year, nearest 2 mi SE, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Alfalfa: about 16 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.4 mi NE, blooms early Jul – late Sep
  • Alfalfa: about 3 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.7 mi NE, blooms early Jul – late Sep
  • Dry beans: about 5 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.6 mi S, blooms late Jul – late Sep

What the honey would be made of

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