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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 47.6960, -95.4279

Estimated forage here is better than about 67% of sites in Minnesota. Against other Minnesota sites it stands out most in fall (91st percentile) and lowest in spring (54th). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 0.2 mi NE, grown 2 of the last 5 years); canola (nearest 0.3 mi NE, grown 1 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 0.2 mi NE, grown 2 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: 87th percentile (spring 45th, summer 89th, fall 98th)
  • Minnesota: 67th percentile (spring 54th, summer 60th, fall 91st)
  • North Central Hardwood Forests: 91st percentile (spring 39th, summer 83rd, fall 98th)

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

Season

  • First forage: Apr 1 — Dandelion, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard)
  • Main flow: Jul 1 to Sep 15 — Soybeans
  • Season ends: Oct 15

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 272 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi N, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 273 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.4 mi SW, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Canola: about 19 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.4 mi SW, blooms late Jun – early Aug
  • Canola: about 12 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi NE, blooms late Jun – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 91 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi NW, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 266 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.2 mi W, 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, Canola, Alfalfa, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard); white
  • Fall honey (September to November): Soybeans, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Alfalfa, Clovers: white, alsike and red; 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

  • 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.