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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 47.5860, -95.7524

Estimated forage here is better than about 72% of sites in Minnesota. Against other Minnesota sites it stands out most in fall (97th percentile) and lowest in spring (45th). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (right here, grown 3 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 1.0 mi S, grown 3 of the last 5 years); sunflower (nearest 1.0 mi N, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), less than 0.1 mi away.

Ranking

  • Continental US: 89th percentile (spring 39th, summer 90th, fall 99th)
  • Minnesota: 72nd percentile (spring 45th, summer 62nd, fall 97th)
  • Lake Agassiz Plain: 42nd percentile (spring 83rd, summer 27th, fall 75th)

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

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 372 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi SW, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 2,148 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.9 mi N, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 868 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.9 mi S, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 172 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi W, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 79 acres in a typical year, nearest 0 mi , blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 274 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi E, 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, Clovers: white, alsike and red; white
  • Fall honey (September to November): Soybeans, Dry Beans, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion; extra 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.