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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Forage on the map in —

National map

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 47.8744, -94.2689

Estimated forage here is better than about 19% of sites in Minnesota. Against other Minnesota sites it stands out most in spring (71st percentile) and lowest in summer (22nd). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 1.0 mi SW, grown 4 of the last 5 years); alfalfa (nearest 1.0 mi N, grown 2 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 1.1 mi N, grown 3 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow, less than 0.1 mi away.

Ranking

Continental US: 52nd percentile (spring 61st, summer 65th, fall 57th)
Minnesota: 19th percentile (spring 71st, summer 22nd, fall 34th)
Northern Lakes and Forests: 38th percentile (spring 36th, summer 49th, fall 79th)

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)
Season ends: Oct 15

Bee crops nearby

Soybeans: about 7 acres in a typical year, nearest 1 mi SW, blooms early Jul – early Sep
Alfalfa: about 22 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.3 mi NE, blooms early Jul – late Sep
Soybeans: about 33 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.4 mi NE, blooms early Jul – early Sep
Soybeans: about 10 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.9 mi NE, blooms early Jul – early Sep
Corn: about 5 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.1 mi N, blooms late Jul – late Aug
Alfalfa: about 20 acres in a typical year, nearest 2 mi NW, blooms early Jul – late Sep

What the honey would be made of

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

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.