Honey bee forage in Grand Marsh, Wisconsin

When is the honey flow in Grand Marsh?

• First forage: Apr 1 (dandelion, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), early trees (maple, willow, poplar))
• Main flow: Jul 1 to Aug 31, peaking late Jul (alfalfa, soybeans, dry Beans)
• Season ends: Oct 15

Forage available to a colony through the year at the center of Grand Marsh, 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 May 14.

What the honey is made of

• Spring honey (March to June): dandelion, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), clovers: white, alsike and red, alfalfa; extra light amber, mixed: part of it sets quickly, part stays liquid
• Summer honey (July and August): alfalfa, soybeans, dry Beans, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard); white, likely to set within weeks to a few months
• Fall honey (September to November): dry Beans, alfalfa, fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), pumpkins; white, likely to set within weeks to a few months
• Whole season (March to November): alfalfa, dry Beans, soybeans, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard); white, likely to set within weeks to a few 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 655 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi E, blooms late Jul – early Aug (grown 3 of the last 5 years)
• Soybeans: about 66 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi W, blooms late Jun – early Sep (grown 3 of the last 5 years)
• Alfalfa: about 65 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.2 mi S, blooms late Jun – early Sep (grown 4 of the last 5 years)
• Dry beans: about 27 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.2 mi S, blooms late Jul – late Sep (grown 1 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 Grand Marsh

Mostly: North-Central Interior Dry Oak Forest and Woodland; Laurentian-Acadian Northern Pine-(Oak) Forest; Northeastern North American Temperate Forest Plantation.

Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow 0.2 mi NE; mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer) 1.04 mi SW.

How Grand Marsh ranks

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

About 45% 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

Easton 6 mi · Adams 7 mi · Friendship 8 mi · Oxford 10 mi · Westfield 11 mi · Dellwood 12 mi

All towns in Wisconsin · 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 Grand Marsh (43.8852, -89.7072); 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.