Honey bee forage in Parks, Nebraska

When is the honey flow in Parks?

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

Forage available to a colony through the year at the center of Parks, 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 27.

What the honey is made of

• Spring honey (March to June): roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), spring-flowering shrubs, summer-flowering shrubs, native wildflowers; light amber, mixed: part of it sets quickly, part stays liquid
• Summer honey (July and August): roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), summer-flowering shrubs, 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), clovers: white, alsike and red; amber, likely to set over some months
• Whole season (March to November): roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), summer-flowering shrubs, spring-flowering shrubs, fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster); 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

• Sorghum: about 23 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.2 mi SW, blooms late Jun – late Jul (grown 1 of the last 5 years)
• Alfalfa: about 18 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.3 mi SE, blooms early Jun – late Aug (grown 1 of the last 5 years)
• Corn: about 66 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.6 mi E, blooms late Jun – late Jul (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 Parks

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

Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow 0.08 mi N; mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer) 0.09 mi E.

How Parks ranks

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

About 88% 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

Benkelman 10 mi · Haigler 12 mi · Max 18 mi · Stratton 27 mi · Champion 30 mi · Enders 30 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 Parks (40.0436, -101.7251); 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.