Honey bee forage in Crookston, Nebraska

When is the honey flow in Crookston?

• First forage: Mar 16 (roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), native wildflowers, dandelion)
• Main flow: Apr 16 to Sep 15, peaking early Aug (roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), native wildflowers)
• Fall flow: Oct 1 to Oct 31 (fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster))
• Season ends: Oct 31

Forage available to a colony through the year at the center of Crookston, 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 11.

What the honey is made of

• Spring honey (March to June): roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), native wildflowers, dandelion, clovers: white, alsike and red; extra light amber, likely to set over some months
• Summer honey (July and August): fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), soybeans, native wildflowers; light amber, likely to set over some months
• Fall honey (September to November): fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard); amber, likely to set over some months
• Whole season (March to November): roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), native wildflowers, dandelion; 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 286 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi NE, blooms early Jul – early Aug (grown 4 of the last 5 years)
• Soybeans: about 52 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi NE, blooms late Jun – late Aug (grown 1 of the last 5 years)
• Alfalfa: about 165 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.5 mi E, blooms late Jun – early Sep (grown 2 of the last 5 years)
• Peas: about 44 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.3 mi N, blooms late May – late Jun (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 Crookston

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

Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer) 0 mi S; creek, wetland or wet meadow 0 mi S.

How Crookston ranks

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

About 86% 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

Kilgore 10 mi · Valentine 11 mi · Nenzel 18 mi · Cody 25 mi · Wood Lake 33 mi · Johnstown 43 mi

All towns in Nebraska · 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 Crookston (42.9263, -100.7534); 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.