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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 47.7476, -93.6533

Estimated forage here is better than about 36% of sites in Minnesota. Against other Minnesota sites it stands out most in spring (91st percentile) and lowest in summer (34th). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 1.5 mi S, grown 1 of the last 5 years); alfalfa (nearest 1.1 mi NW, grown 2 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 2.3 mi N, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: pond, lake or river, less than 0.1 mi away. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 70th percentile (spring 74th, summer 72nd, fall 61st)
  • Minnesota: 36th percentile (spring 91st, summer 34th, fall 40th)
  • Northern Minnesota Wetlands: 76th percentile (spring 86th, summer 76th, fall 59th)

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), Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion
  • Season ends: Oct 15

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 3 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.6 mi SW, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Alfalfa: about 2 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.1 mi NW, blooms early Jul – late Sep
  • Soybeans: about 1 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.5 mi S, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Alfalfa: about 4 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.8 mi NE, blooms early Jul – late Sep
  • Alfalfa: about 3 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.8 mi NE, blooms early Jul – late Sep
  • Alfalfa: about 18 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.3 mi NE, blooms early Jul – late Sep

What the honey would be made of

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

Things to watch

  • Near a FEMA high-risk flood zone. A mapped high-risk flood zone (AE) is within about 300 m. Check FEMA's map for the exact spot.

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.