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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 40.0904, -98.7602

Estimated forage here is better than about 71% of sites in Nebraska. Against other Nebraska sites it stands out most in spring (97th percentile) and lowest in fall (38th). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 0.3 mi SE, grown 3 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 0.3 mi SE, grown 2 of the last 5 years); sorghum (nearest 0.5 mi NE, grown 2 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow, less than 0.1 mi away. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 83rd percentile (spring 57th, summer 88th, fall 60th)
  • Nebraska: 71st percentile (spring 97th, summer 65th, fall 38th)
  • Central Great Plains: 86th percentile (spring 65th, summer 81st, fall 63rd)

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

Season

  • First forage: Mar 16 — Dandelion, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Early trees (maple, willow, poplar)
  • Main flow: Jun 16 to Aug 15 — Soybeans, Alfalfa
  • Season ends: Sep 30

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 349 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi SE, blooms early Jun – early Aug
  • Corn: about 1,540 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi SE, blooms late Jun – late Jul
  • Corn: about 1,416 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi W, blooms late Jun – late Jul
  • Corn: about 416 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi E, blooms late Jun – late Jul
  • Soybeans: about 60 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi NE, blooms early Jun – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 71 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi W, 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, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster); extra light amber
  • Fall honey (September to November): Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Garden flowers, Dandelion; amber
  • Whole season (March to November): Soybeans, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Alfalfa; 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.