Honey bee forage in Shiner, Texas

When is the honey flow in Shiner?

• First forage: Jan 1 (dandelion, clovers: white, alsike and red)
• Main flow: Jan 16 to Apr 30, peaking late Feb (clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion)
• Fall flow: May 16 to Jun 30 (clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard))
• Season ends: Dec 31

Forage available to a colony through the year at the center of Shiner, from what grows within flight range (about 3.7 miles) and when it blooms here. Dates are the model's estimate for a typical year; the spring index for this spot falls on Feb 17.

What the honey is made of

• Spring honey (March to June): clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard); extra light amber, likely to set over some months
• Summer honey (July and August): clovers: white, alsike and red, garden flowers, dandelion, fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster); extra light amber, likely to set over some months
• Fall honey (September to November): garden flowers, fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster); amber
• Whole season (March to November): clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), garden flowers; extra light amber, likely to set over some months

Nectar-source estimate (plants weighted by how much bees favor them), not a pollen analysis. Full honey estimate.

Bee crops within flight range

• Corn: about 19 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.9 mi NW, blooms late Apr – late May (grown 4 of the last 5 years)
• Cotton: about 3 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.5 mi NE, blooms early Jun – late Jul (grown 2 of the last 5 years)

From USDA's crop maps for 2021–2025; fields rotate, so a crop counts by how often it was grown. Listing a field says nothing about its owner.

The land and water around Shiner

Mostly: Western Warm Temperate Pasture and Hayland; Southeastern Ruderal Grassland; East-Central Texas Plains Post Oak Savanna and Woodland.

Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer) 0.09 mi NW; pond, lake or river 0.36 mi N.

Things to watch

• Heavily developed. About 51% of the land within a mile is developed. Less room for forage, and more neighbors near the hives.
• Bee crops nearby that are often sprayed. Cotton: insecticides used on about 39% of surveyed US acres (2025). Figures are from USDA's Agricultural Chemical Use Survey, matched by crop type from the crop map. The survey counts any insecticide use in the crop year (not seed treatments) and doesn't say when; ask nearby growers about spray timing.

How Shiner ranks

Percentiles among 3,000 random land points in each region, scored the same way: land in general, not beekeepers' apiaries.

About 60% of the land here is scored with national averages for its vegetation type rather than measured plant cover, so the wild-plant part of this estimate is rougher than the crop part.

Nearby

Moulton 10 mi · Yoakum 10 mi · Hallettsville 14 mi · Gonzales 17 mi · Flatonia 18 mi · Waelder 20 mi

All towns in Texas · National map · How the scoring works

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. The point is the Census Bureau's published center of Shiner (29.4337, -97.1736); a yard a mile or two away can differ, so check your own spot. The FEMA flood map was not checked for this page. Benchmark 2026.5, built 2026-10-19. How this works · All sources.