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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 38.0416, -102.0087

Estimated forage here is better than about 57% of sites in Kansas. Against other Kansas sites it stands out most in spring (82nd percentile) and lowest in summer (37th). Biggest nearby bee crops: sorghum (nearest 0.3 mi SE, grown 2 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 0.4 mi SW, grown 2 of the last 5 years); alfalfa (nearest 0.2 mi S, grown 2 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), 0.12 mi SE.

Ranking

  • Continental US: 66th percentile (spring 69th, summer 70th, fall 65th)
  • Kansas: 57th percentile (spring 82nd, summer 37th, fall 70th)
  • High Plains: 87th percentile (spring 93rd, summer 62nd, fall 59th)

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

Season

  • First forage: Feb 16 — Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Dandelion, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar)
  • Main flow: Mar 16 to Aug 15 — Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Alfalfa, Dandelion
  • Season ends: Oct 31

Bee crops nearby

  • Sorghum: about 260 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.4 mi SW, blooms late Jun – late Jul
  • Corn: about 211 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi W, blooms late Jun – late Jul
  • Sorghum: about 50 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi SE, blooms late Jun – late Jul
  • Alfalfa: about 49 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi SW, blooms early Jun – early Aug
  • Alfalfa: about 190 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.5 mi E, blooms early Jun – early Aug
  • Alfalfa: about 523 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.5 mi SE, blooms early Jun – early Aug

What the honey would be made of

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

Things to watch

  • 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.