Honey bee forage in McFarlan, North Carolina

When is the honey flow in McFarlan?

• First forage: Jan 16 (dandelion, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), early trees (maple, willow, poplar))
• Main flow: Mar 1 to Jun 30, peaking early May (soybeans, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), clovers: white, alsike and red)
• Season ends: Aug 31

Forage available to a colony through the year at the center of McFarlan, 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 Mar 18.

What the honey is made of

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

• Soybeans: about 20 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi SE, blooms early May – early Jul (grown 4 of the last 5 years)
• Peaches: about 6 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.1 mi W, blooms late Feb – early Mar

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 McFarlan

Mostly: Southeastern Native Ruderal Forest; Southeastern North American Temperate Forest Plantation; Southeastern Ruderal Grassland.

Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow 0.08 mi SW; mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer) 0.25 mi S.

Things to watch

• Bee crops nearby that are often sprayed. Peaches: insecticides used on about 86% of surveyed US acres (2025); 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 McFarlan ranks

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

About 71% 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

Morven 4 mi · Lilesville 11 mi · Cordova 11 mi · Wadesboro 12 mi · East Rockingham 14 mi · Rockingham 15 mi

All towns in North Carolina · 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 McFarlan (34.8148, -79.9766); 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.