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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 39.0133, -97.8798

Estimated forage here is better than about 72% of sites in Kansas. Against other Kansas sites it stands out most in summer (77th percentile) and lowest in fall (50th). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 0.2 mi N, grown 2 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 0.5 mi SE, grown 3 of the last 5 years); alfalfa (nearest 0.4 mi S, grown 2 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), less than 0.1 mi away. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 81st percentile (spring 58th, summer 86th, fall 51st)
  • Kansas: 72nd percentile (spring 67th, summer 77th, fall 50th)
  • Central Great Plains: 84th percentile (spring 67th, summer 79th, fall 51st)

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, Alfalfa
  • Season ends: Sep 30

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 504 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi S, blooms early Jun – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 105 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi W, blooms early Jun – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 315 acres in a typical year, nearest 1 mi SE, blooms early Jun – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 709 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.2 mi W, blooms early Jun – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 60 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi SE, blooms early Jun – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 29 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.2 mi N, 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, Alfalfa, Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard); 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, Alfalfa; extra light amber

Things to watch

  • Near a FEMA high-risk flood zone. A mapped high-risk flood zone (A) is within about 300 m. Check FEMA's map for the exact spot.

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.