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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 37.9628, -98.6001

Estimated forage here is better than about 53% of sites in Kansas. Against other Kansas sites it stands out most in spring (81st percentile) and lowest in fall (22nd). Biggest nearby bee crops: alfalfa (nearest 0.5 mi W); corn (nearest 0.4 mi NE, grown 1 of the last 5 years); sorghum (nearest 0.6 mi S, grown 2 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow, 0.41 mi NE. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 62nd percentile (spring 68th, summer 71st, fall 27th)
  • Kansas: 53rd percentile (spring 81st, summer 40th, fall 22nd)
  • Central Great Plains: 67th percentile (spring 80th, summer 59th, fall 28th)

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

Season

  • First forage: Mar 1 — Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red
  • Main flow: Apr 1 to Jul 31 — Alfalfa, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion
  • Season ends: Sep 30

Bee crops nearby

  • Alfalfa: about 510 acres in a typical year, nearest 1 mi N, blooms late May – early Aug
  • Alfalfa: about 123 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi W, blooms late May – early Aug
  • Corn: about 60 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi N, blooms late Jun – late Jul
  • Alfalfa: about 72 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi SE, blooms late May – early Aug
  • Corn: about 168 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.2 mi SE, blooms late Jun – late Jul
  • Alfalfa: about 118 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.1 mi NW, blooms late May – early Aug

What the honey would be made of

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

Things to watch

  • Lots of crops with little or no bee value. About 49% of the land within 3 miles is in crops bees get little from (such as wheat and other grains).
  • 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.