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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 47.5364, -95.9835

Estimated forage here is better than about 75% of sites in Minnesota. Against other Minnesota sites it stands out most in fall (94th percentile) and lowest in spring (36th). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 0.1 mi SE, grown 3 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 0.1 mi SE, grown 1 of the last 5 years); alfalfa (nearest 0.6 mi S, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow, 0.17 mi NW.

Ranking

  • Continental US: 90th percentile (spring 30th, summer 91st, fall 98th)
  • Minnesota: 75th percentile (spring 36th, summer 68th, fall 94th)
  • Lake Agassiz Plain: 47th percentile (spring 75th, summer 42nd, fall 56th)

Percentile among 3,000 random land points across Minnesota, scored the same way; land in general, not beekeepers' yards.

Season

  • First forage: Apr 16 — Dandelion, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Clovers: white, alsike and red
  • Main flow: Jul 1 to Sep 15 — Soybeans
  • Season ends: Sep 30

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 832 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.1 mi SE, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 4,299 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi NW, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 1,064 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi N, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Corn: about 244 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.2 mi E, blooms late Jul – late Aug
  • Corn: about 422 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi NE, blooms late Jul – late Aug
  • Soybeans: about 2,010 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.7 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, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Early trees (maple, willow, poplar); light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Soybeans
  • Fall honey (September to November): Soybeans, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Clovers: white, alsike and red; light amber
  • Whole season (March to November): Soybeans, Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard); 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.