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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 38.2681, -121.2992

Estimated forage here is better than about 78% of sites in California. Against other California sites it stands out most in spring (67th percentile) and lowest in fall (56th). Biggest nearby bee crops: almonds (nearest 0.3 mi SE); alfalfa (nearest 0.8 mi NW, grown 4 of the last 5 years); grapes (nearest 1.8 mi SE). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), 0.22 mi N. 2 things to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 82nd percentile (spring 93rd, summer 37th, fall 28th)
  • California: 78th percentile (spring 67th, summer 63rd, fall 56th)
  • Central California Valley: 36th percentile (spring 37th, summer 69th, fall 80th)

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

Season

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

Bee crops nearby

  • Almonds: about 13 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi SE, blooms early Feb – late Mar
  • Alfalfa: about 224 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.9 mi E, blooms late Apr – early Jun
  • Almonds: about 23 acres in a typical year, nearest 1 mi NW, blooms early Feb – late Mar
  • Grapes: about 641 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.8 mi SE, blooms early Apr – early May
  • Alfalfa: about 91 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.1 mi SE, blooms late Apr – early Jun
  • Grapes: about 2,116 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.4 mi S, blooms early Apr – early May

What the honey would be made of

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

Things to watch

  • Heavily developed. About 73% 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. Grapes (all types): insecticides used on about 58% of surveyed US acres (2021); Grapes, wine type: insecticides used on about 56% of surveyed US acres (2025); Grapes, table type: insecticides used on about 50% of surveyed US acres (2025); Grapes, raisin type: insecticides used on about 77% of surveyed US acres (2025); Cherries, sweet: insecticides used on about 84% of surveyed US acres (2025); Cherries, tart: insecticides used on about 45% 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.
  • Flood map not checked. FEMA's flood map service didn't answer. Check it directly.

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.