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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 38.6762, -97.7493

Estimated forage here is better than about 1% of sites in Kansas. Against other Kansas sites it ranks highest in fall (27th percentile) and lowest in spring (13th). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 0.2 mi E, grown 2 of the last 5 years); sorghum (nearest 0.4 mi N, grown 1 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 0.6 mi W, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow, 0.11 mi NE. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 28th percentile (spring 34th, summer 66th, fall 32nd)
  • Kansas: 1st percentile (spring 13th, summer 26th, fall 27th)
  • Central Great Plains: 10th percentile (spring 19th, summer 51st, fall 32nd)

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

Season

  • First forage: Mar 1 — Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Dandelion, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar)
  • Main flow: Jun 1 to Jul 31 — Soybeans
  • Season ends: Oct 31

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 58 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.2 mi E, blooms early Jun – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 238 acres in a typical year, nearest 1 mi E, blooms early Jun – early Aug
  • Sorghum: about 30 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.4 mi N, blooms late Jun – late Jul
  • Soybeans: about 21 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi SW, blooms early Jun – early Aug
  • Sorghum: about 56 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi SW, blooms late Jun – late Jul
  • Soybeans: about 69 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.5 mi E, blooms early Jun – early Aug

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), Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Garden flowers; amber
  • Whole season (March to November): Soybeans, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Dandelion; extra light amber

Things to watch

  • Lots of crops with little or no bee value. About 40% of the land within 3 miles is in crops bees get little from (such as wheat and other grains).

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.