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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 48.4363, -96.1606

Estimated forage here is better than about 73% of sites in Minnesota. Against other Minnesota sites it stands out most in fall (88th percentile) and lowest in spring (56th). Biggest nearby bee crops: canola (nearest 0.1 mi SE, grown 1 of the last 5 years); soybeans (nearest 0.2 mi SE, grown 2 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 0.3 mi W, 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: 89th percentile (spring 48th, summer 90th, fall 96th)
  • Minnesota: 73rd percentile (spring 56th, summer 63rd, fall 88th)
  • Lake Agassiz Plain: 42nd percentile (spring 89th, summer 30th, fall 34th)

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), Dandelion, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard)
  • Main flow: Jul 1 to Aug 31 — Soybeans, Canola
  • Season ends: Oct 15

Bee crops nearby

  • Canola: about 32 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.1 mi SE, blooms late Jun – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 244 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi W, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 63 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.2 mi SE, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 202 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi S, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Canola: about 46 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.1 mi S, blooms late Jun – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 175 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi SW, blooms early Jul – early Sep

What the honey would be made of

  • Spring honey (March to June): Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Canola, Dandelion, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard); 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, Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster); extra light amber
  • Whole season (March to November): Soybeans, Canola, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Early trees (maple, willow, poplar); 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.