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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 47.8398, -95.8475

Estimated forage here is better than about 79% of sites in Minnesota. Against other Minnesota sites it stands out most in fall (98th percentile) and lowest in spring (38th). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (right here, grown 2 of the last 5 years); canola (nearest 1.1 mi SW, grown 1 of the last 5 years); dry beans (nearest 0.5 mi S, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), 0.26 mi E.

Ranking

  • Continental US: 91st percentile (spring 32nd, summer 91st, fall 99th)
  • Minnesota: 79th percentile (spring 38th, summer 68th, fall 98th)
  • Lake Agassiz Plain: 53rd percentile (spring 76th, summer 39th, fall 79th)

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, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard)
  • Main flow: Jul 1 to Sep 15 — Soybeans
  • Season ends: Sep 30

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 3,751 acres in a typical year, nearest 0 mi , blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 2,994 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi N, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 1,544 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi W, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 1,975 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi NW, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Canola: about 32 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.1 mi SW, blooms late Jun – early Aug
  • Dry beans: about 60 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi S, blooms late Jul – late 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, Dry Beans, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion; white
  • 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.