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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 48.1960, -96.7665

Estimated forage here is better than about 75% of sites in Minnesota. Against other Minnesota sites it stands out most in fall (95th percentile) and lowest in spring (56th). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 0.3 mi E, grown 1 of the last 5 years); sunflower (nearest 0.4 mi SE, grown 1 of the last 5 years); dry beans (nearest 0.3 mi E, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: open water, 0.11 mi S. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 89th percentile (spring 47th, summer 90th, fall 99th)
  • Minnesota: 75th percentile (spring 56th, summer 62nd, fall 95th)
  • Lake Agassiz Plain: 46th percentile (spring 89th, summer 26th, fall 64th)

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, Clovers: white, alsike and red
  • Main flow: Jul 1 to Sep 15 — Soybeans
  • Season ends: Oct 15

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 1,257 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi W, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Sunflower: about 37 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.4 mi SE, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 749 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi E, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 103 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.4 mi SE, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 290 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.9 mi N, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 104 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi SW, blooms early Jul – early Sep

What the honey would be made of

  • Spring honey (March to June): Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Garden flowers, Lindens / basswood; light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Soybeans, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Sunflower, Dry Beans; extra light amber
  • Fall honey (September to November): Soybeans, Dry Beans, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion; extra light amber
  • Whole season (March to November): Soybeans, Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dry Beans; extra light amber

Things to watch

  • Lots of crops with little or no bee value. About 43% of the land within 3 miles is in crops bees get little from (such as wheat and other grains).
  • 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.