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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 38.5869, -98.4108

Estimated forage here is better than about 63% of sites in Kansas. Against other Kansas sites it stands out most in spring (78th percentile) and lowest in fall (43rd). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 0.3 mi S, grown 2 of the last 5 years); sorghum (nearest 0.3 mi S, grown 1 of the last 5 years); alfalfa (nearest 0.2 mi N, grown 4 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), 0.16 mi NW.

Ranking

  • Continental US: 72nd percentile (spring 65th, summer 79th, fall 46th)
  • Kansas: 63rd percentile (spring 78th, summer 61st, fall 43rd)
  • Central Great Plains: 76th percentile (spring 77th, summer 70th, fall 44th)

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, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Early trees (maple, willow, poplar)
  • Main flow: Jun 1 to Jul 31 — Soybeans, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard)
  • Season ends: Sep 30

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 52 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi S, blooms early Jun – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 90 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi S, blooms early Jun – early Aug
  • Sorghum: about 173 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi SW, blooms late Jun – late Jul
  • Soybeans: about 118 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.2 mi SE, blooms early Jun – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 31 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi SW, blooms early Jun – early Aug
  • Sorghum: about 163 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.9 mi SW, blooms late Jun – late Jul

What the honey would be made of

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

Things to watch

  • 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.