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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 47.5156, -95.6339

Estimated forage here is better than about 36% of sites in Minnesota. Against other Minnesota sites it stands out most in fall (77th percentile) and lowest in summer (41st). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 0.3 mi NW, grown 3 of the last 5 years); alfalfa (nearest 0.4 mi NW, grown 1 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 0.8 mi W, grown 2 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: pond, lake or river, 0.24 mi S.

Ranking

  • Continental US: 70th percentile (spring 59th, summer 77th, fall 86th)
  • Minnesota: 36th percentile (spring 69th, summer 41st, fall 77th)
  • North Central Hardwood Forests: 33rd percentile (spring 68th, summer 32nd, fall 78th)

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 15 — Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion
  • Fall flow: Sep 1 to Sep 15 — Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Alfalfa, Soybeans
  • Season ends: Oct 31

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 13 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi NW, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 19 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi W, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 14 acres in a typical year, nearest 1 mi N, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Alfalfa: about 49 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.2 mi E, blooms early Jul – late Sep
  • Alfalfa: about 15 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi NW, blooms early Jul – late Sep
  • Soybeans: about 6 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi W, 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), Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red; light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Clovers: white, alsike and red, Alfalfa, Soybeans; extra light amber
  • Fall honey (September to November): Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Clovers: white, alsike and red, Alfalfa; extra light amber
  • Whole season (March to November): Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar); 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.