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Bee forage check

How good is this spot for honey bees?

Enter an address or tap the map. You'll see which bee plants and crops are within flight range (about 3.7 miles, with nearer land counting more), when the honey flow comes and when there's a dearth, nearby water, a few things worth checking, and how the spot ranks against random sites in your state and across the country.

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The colors are the national forage map: every square kilometer of the lower 48, scored the same way. See the honey flow for your state and town, the best and worst spots we found, or how the scoring works.

Forage report for 31.8280, -107.6426

Estimated forage here is better than about 99% of sites in New Mexico. Against other New Mexico sites it stands out most in spring (99th percentile) and lowest in fall (9th). Biggest nearby bee crops: cotton (nearest 0.6 mi S, grown 1 of the last 5 years); watermelons (nearest 1.0 mi SE, grown 1 of the last 5 years); alfalfa (nearest 0.5 mi S, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), less than 0.1 mi away. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 64th percentile (spring 83rd, summer 40th, fall 21st)
  • New Mexico: 99th percentile (spring 99th, summer 82nd, fall 9th)
  • Chihuahuan Deserts: 99th percentile (spring 96th, summer 99th, fall 11th)

Percentile among 3,000 random land points across New Mexico, scored the same way; land in general, not beekeepers' yards.

Season

  • First forage: Jan 16 — Dandelion, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Clovers: white, alsike and red
  • Main flow: Feb 16 to May 15 — Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion
  • Fall flow: Jun 1 to Jul 31 — Cotton, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard)
  • Season ends: Sep 30

Bee crops nearby

  • Cotton: about 1,194 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.9 mi N, blooms late Jun – early Aug
  • Cotton: about 76 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi SE, blooms late Jun – early Aug
  • Watermelons: about 18 acres in a typical year, nearest 1 mi SE, blooms late Apr – late Aug
  • Alfalfa: about 9 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi S, blooms late Apr – late Jun
  • Alfalfa: about 13 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.1 mi SE, blooms late Apr – late Jun
  • Cotton: about 5 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.2 mi SE, blooms late Jun – early Aug

What the honey would be 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
  • Summer honey (July and August): Cotton, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Garden flowers, Dandelion; extra light amber
  • Fall honey (September to November): Garden flowers, Rabbitbrush, Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster); dark amber
  • Whole season (March to November): Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Cotton, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion; extra light amber

Things to watch

  • Bee crops nearby that are often sprayed. Cotton: insecticides used on about 39% of surveyed US acres (2025); Watermelons: insecticides used on about 38% of surveyed US acres (2024). 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.

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. Honey composition is a nectar-source estimate, not a pollen analysis. Benchmark 2026.5. How this works.