city in Kansas

Honey bee forage in Cunningham, Kansas

Estimated forage here is better than about 41% of sites in Kansas. Against other Kansas sites it stands out most in spring (68th percentile) and lowest in summer (30th). Biggest nearby bee crops: sorghum (nearest 0.3 mi N, grown 2 of the last 5 years); soybeans (nearest 0.4 mi NW, grown 1 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 0.8 mi SE, grown 1 of the last 5 years).

When is the honey flow in Cunningham?

  • First forage: Feb 16 (dandelion, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard))
  • Main flow: Apr 1 to Jul 31, peaking late Jun (soybeans, clovers: white, alsike and red, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard))
  • Season ends: Oct 31
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec

Forage available to a colony through the year at the center of Cunningham, 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 Apr 13.

What the honey is made of

  • Spring honey (March to June): clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), soybeans; extra light amber, likely to set over some months
  • Summer honey (July and August): soybeans, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), cotton, fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster); extra light amber, mixed: part of it sets quickly, part stays liquid
  • Fall honey (September to November): fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), cotton, garden flowers; light amber, likely to set within weeks to a few months
  • Whole season (March to November): roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), dandelion, clovers: white, alsike and red, soybeans; 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

  • Sorghum: about 93 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.4 mi NE, blooms early Jun – early Jul (grown 1 of the last 5 years)
  • Soybeans: about 37 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi S, blooms late May – early Aug (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 Cunningham

Mostly: Central Mixedgrass Prairie Grassland; Western Great Plains Sand Prairie; Winter Wheat.

Nearest mapped water: open water 0.22 mi SE; mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer) 0.28 mi NE.

Things to watch

  • 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 Cunningham ranks

Against random land inOverallSpringSummerFall
Continental US52nd58th67th52nd
Kansas41st68th30th51st
Central Great Plains53rd68th53rd52nd

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

The national forage map around Cunningham: darker is more forage. Tap anywhere to check that exact spot.

Nearby

Penalosa 8 mi · Preston 10 mi · Turon 11 mi · Isabel 14 mi · Nashville 14 mi · Langdon 16 mi

All towns in Kansas · 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 Cunningham (37.6446, -98.4311); 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.