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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 47.6213, -94.1402

Estimated forage here is better than about 5% of sites in Minnesota. Against other Minnesota sites it ranks highest in spring (48th percentile) and lowest in summer (4th). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 3.4 mi NW). Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow, less than 0.1 mi away.

Ranking

  • Continental US: 17th percentile (spring 42nd, summer 38th, fall 41st)
  • Minnesota: 5th percentile (spring 48th, summer 4th, fall 21st)
  • Northern Lakes and Forests: 8th percentile (spring 10th, summer 6th, fall 60th)

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)
  • Main flow: Apr 16 to Jul 15 — Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Summer-flowering trees (locust, linden), Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard)
  • Season ends: Oct 15

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 15 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.4 mi NW, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 2 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.6 mi NW, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 10 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.7 mi NW, blooms early Jul – early Sep

What the honey would be made of

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

Things to watch

  • Flood map not checked. FEMA's flood map service didn't answer. Check it directly.

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.