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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.

Or tap the map. We don't store your address or exact location.

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 36.7897, -98.6669

Estimated forage here is better than about 45% of sites in Oklahoma. Against other Oklahoma sites it stands out most in summer (73rd percentile) and lowest in fall (35th). Biggest nearby bee crops: alfalfa (nearest 0.2 mi S, grown 2 of the last 5 years); sorghum (nearest 0.5 mi W, grown 1 of the last 5 years); soybeans (nearest 1.7 mi NE, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: open water, less than 0.1 mi away. 2 things to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 52nd percentile (spring 75th, summer 48th, fall 44th)
  • Oklahoma: 45th percentile (spring 54th, summer 73rd, fall 35th)
  • Central Great Plains: 52nd percentile (spring 86th, summer 35th, fall 43rd)

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

Season

  • First forage: Feb 16 — Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard)
  • Main flow: Mar 1 to Jun 30 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard)
  • Fall flow: Jul 16 to Aug 15 — Alfalfa, Garden flowers, Dandelion
  • Season ends: Oct 31

Bee crops nearby

  • Alfalfa: about 149 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.9 mi SE, blooms late May – late Jul
  • Alfalfa: about 34 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi S, blooms late May – late Jul
  • Sorghum: about 83 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.3 mi NE, blooms early Jun – early Jul
  • Sorghum: about 15 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi W, blooms early Jun – early Jul
  • Sorghum: about 29 acres in a typical year, nearest 1 mi W, blooms early Jun – early Jul
  • Sorghum: about 53 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.5 mi S, blooms early Jun – early Jul

What the honey would be made of

  • Spring honey (March to June): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Alfalfa; extra light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Alfalfa, Garden flowers, Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red; extra light amber
  • Fall honey (September to November): Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Garden flowers; amber
  • Whole season (March to November): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Alfalfa, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard); extra light amber

Things to watch

  • Lots of crops with little or no bee value. About 45% of the land within 3 miles is in crops bees get little from (such as wheat and other grains).
  • Heavily developed. About 52% of the land within a mile is developed. Less room for forage, and more neighbors near the hives.
  • No digital FEMA flood map here. FEMA has no digital flood map for this area. Ask the county, and look for low ground near creeks before placing hives.

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.