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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 40.5995, -96.5124

Estimated forage here is better than about 92% of sites in Nebraska. Against other Nebraska sites it stands out most in summer (86th percentile) and lowest in fall (25th). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 0.1 mi E, grown 3 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 0.1 mi E, grown 2 of the last 5 years); alfalfa (nearest 0.3 mi NE, grown 3 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), 0.17 mi W.

Ranking

  • Continental US: 94th percentile (spring 42nd, summer 95th, fall 38th)
  • Nebraska: 92nd percentile (spring 76th, summer 86th, fall 25th)
  • Western Corn Belt Plains: 64th percentile (spring 76th, summer 47th, fall 53rd)

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)
  • Main flow: Jun 16 to Aug 15 — Soybeans
  • Season ends: Aug 31

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 473 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi NW, blooms early Jun – late Aug
  • Soybeans: about 420 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.2 mi W, blooms early Jun – late Aug
  • Corn: about 2,387 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi S, blooms late Jun – late Jul
  • Soybeans: about 371 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi E, blooms early Jun – late Aug
  • Corn: about 809 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi NW, blooms late Jun – late Jul
  • Soybeans: about 786 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi SE, blooms early Jun – late 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
  • Fall honey (September to November): Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Garden flowers, Clovers: white, alsike and red; light 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.