Honey bee forage in Verdigre, Nebraska

When is the honey flow in Verdigre?

• First forage: Mar 16 (dandelion, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard))
• Main flow: Apr 16 to Aug 31, peaking early Jul (alfalfa, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), clovers: white, alsike and red)
• Season ends: Oct 31

Forage available to a colony through the year at the center of Verdigre, 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 4.

What the honey is made of

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

• Alfalfa: about 154 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.4 mi W, blooms early Jun – late Aug (grown 3 of the last 5 years)
• Corn: about 226 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.4 mi NW, blooms early Jul – early Aug (grown 1 of the last 5 years)
• Soybeans: about 31 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.4 mi NE, blooms late Jun – late Aug (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 Verdigre

Mostly: Central Tallgrass Prairie; Central Mixedgrass Prairie Grassland; Western Great Plains Dry Bur Oak Forest and Woodland.

Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow 0.23 mi NW; mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer) 0.26 mi E.

How Verdigre ranks

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

About 60% 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

Winnetoon 7 mi · Center 8 mi · Bazile Mills 9 mi · Niobrara 11 mi · Creighton 11 mi · Verdel 17 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 Verdigre (42.5972, -98.0356); 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.