Honey bee forage in Weatherford, Oklahoma

When is the honey flow in Weatherford?

• First forage: Feb 1 (dandelion, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard))
• Main flow: Mar 1 to Jun 15, peaking early Apr (clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard))
• Fall flow: Jul 1 to Aug 15 (garden flowers, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), clovers: white, alsike and red)
• Season ends: Sep 30

Forage available to a colony through the year at the center of Weatherford, 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 30.

What the honey is made of

• Spring honey (March to June): clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), summer-flowering shrubs; extra light amber, likely to set over some months
• Summer honey (July and August): garden flowers, clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard); light amber, likely to set over some months
• Fall honey (September to November): fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), garden flowers; amber
• Whole season (March to November): clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), garden flowers; 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 6 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi NW, blooms late May – late Jul (grown 1 of the last 5 years)
• Corn: about 47 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.7 mi N, blooms early Jun – early Jul (grown 4 of the last 5 years)
• Sorghum: about 7 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi NW, blooms early Jun – early Jul (grown 1 of the last 5 years)
• Cotton: about 19 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.6 mi N, blooms early Jul – early Sep (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 Weatherford

Mostly: Central Mixedgrass Prairie Grassland; Great Plains Comanchian Ruderal Grassland; Winter Wheat.

Nearest mapped water: open water 0.08 mi W; mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer) 0.37 mi SW.

Things to watch

• Heavily developed. About 71% of the land within a mile is developed. Less room for forage, and more neighbors near the hives.
• 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 Weatherford ranks

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

About 30% 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

Hydro 6 mi · Corn 12 mi · Colony 13 mi · Custer City 14 mi · Thomas 15 mi · Arapaho 16 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 Weatherford (35.5374, -98.6843); 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.