Honey bee forage in Rock Falls, Wisconsin

When is the honey flow in Rock Falls?

• 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 (soybeans, alfalfa, sunflower)
• Season ends: Sep 30

Forage available to a colony through the year at the center of Rock Falls, 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): clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), alfalfa; extra light amber, mixed: part of it sets quickly, part stays liquid
• Summer honey (July and August): soybeans, alfalfa, sunflower, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard); extra light amber, likely to set within weeks to a few months
• Fall honey (September to November): alfalfa, fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), soybeans, clovers: white, alsike and red; extra light amber, likely to set within weeks to a few months
• Whole season (March to November): soybeans, alfalfa, clovers: white, alsike and red, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard); extra light amber, mixed: part of it sets quickly, part stays liquid

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 1,579 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi N, blooms late Jul – early Aug (grown 2 of the last 5 years)
• Alfalfa: about 120 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.2 mi W, blooms late Jun – early Sep (grown 2 of the last 5 years)
• Sunflower: about 18 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi SE, blooms early Jul – late Aug (grown 1 of the last 5 years)
• Soybeans: about 27 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.2 mi N, blooms late Jun – early Sep (grown 3 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 Rock Falls

Mostly: North-Central Interior Dry-Mesic Oak Forest and Woodland; Corn; Soybeans.

Nearest mapped water: pond, lake or river 0 mi S; creek, wetland or wet meadow 0.04 mi SE.

How Rock Falls ranks

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

About 42% 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

Mondovi 10 mi · Elk Mound 11 mi · Downsville 12 mi · Eau Claire 12 mi · Altoona 14 mi · Durand 14 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 Rock Falls (44.7157, -91.6993); 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.