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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 47.5201, -95.1293

Estimated forage here is better than about 45% of sites in Minnesota. Against other Minnesota sites it stands out most in fall (78th percentile) and lowest in summer (45th). Biggest nearby bee crops: alfalfa (nearest 0.1 mi N); soybeans (nearest 0.4 mi N, grown 2 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 0.4 mi N, grown 2 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow, 0.13 mi S. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 76th percentile (spring 61st, summer 80th, fall 87th)
  • Minnesota: 45th percentile (spring 71st, summer 45th, fall 78th)
  • Northern Lakes and Forests: 95th percentile (spring 36th, summer 97th, 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
  • Main flow: Apr 16 to Sep 15 — Alfalfa, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Clovers: white, alsike and red
  • Season ends: Oct 15

Bee crops nearby

  • Alfalfa: about 54 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.1 mi N, blooms early Jul – late Sep
  • Soybeans: about 27 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.4 mi N, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 38 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.4 mi S, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 31 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi NW, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 199 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.7 mi NW, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Alfalfa: about 19 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi S, blooms early 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): Alfalfa, Soybeans, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Clovers: white, alsike and red; white
  • Fall honey (September to November): Alfalfa, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Soybeans, Clovers: white, alsike and red; extra light amber
  • Whole season (March to November): Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Alfalfa, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard); extra light amber

Things to watch

  • Bee crops nearby that are often sprayed. Sweet Corn: insecticides used on about 44% of surveyed US acres (2024). Figures are from USDA's Agricultural Chemical Use Survey, matched by crop type from the crop map. The survey counts any insecticide use in the crop year (not seed treatments) and doesn't say when; ask nearby growers about spray timing.
  • 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.