town in Oklahoma
Honey bee forage in Ryan, Oklahoma
Estimated forage here is better than about 70% of sites in Oklahoma. Against other Oklahoma sites it stands out most in spring (74th percentile) and lowest in summer (27th). Biggest nearby bee crops: cotton (nearest 0.8 mi S, grown 1 of the last 5 years); sorghum (nearest 1.3 mi SW, grown 2 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 1.5 mi SW, grown 1 of the last 5 years).
When is the honey flow in Ryan?
- First forage: Jan 16 (roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), dandelion)
- Main flow: Feb 16 to May 15, peaking late Mar (roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), dandelion, clovers: white, alsike and red)
- Fall flow: Jun 1 to Jul 15 (roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), cotton)
- Season ends: Oct 31
Forage available to a colony through the year at the center of Ryan, 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 17.
What the honey is made of
- Spring honey (March to June): roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion, summer-flowering trees (locust, linden); extra light amber, likely to set over some months
- Summer honey (July and August): roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), cotton, fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), garden flowers; 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): roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion, fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster); 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
- Cotton: about 183 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.4 mi W, blooms late Jun – late 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 Ryan
Mostly: Great Plains Comanchian Ruderal Grassland; Southeastern Great Plains Tallgrass Prairie; Central Mixedgrass Prairie Grassland.
Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer) 0.17 mi N; pond, lake or river 0.25 mi NW.
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 Ryan ranks
| Against random land in | Overall | Spring | Summer | Fall |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Continental US | 68th | 88th | 37th | 45th |
| Oklahoma | 70th | 74th | 27th | 35th |
| Central Great Plains | 72nd | 98th | 21st | 43rd |
Percentiles among 3,000 random land points in each region, scored the same way: land in general, not beekeepers' apiaries.
About 63% 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.
The national forage map around Ryan: darker is more forage. Tap anywhere to check that exact spot.
Nearby
Sugden 4 mi · Terral 9 mi · Waurika 12 mi · Addington 15 mi · Hastings 17 mi · Cornish 23 mi
All towns in Oklahoma · 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 Ryan (34.0214, -97.9542); 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.