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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 40.9119, -96.5326

Estimated forage here is better than about 91% of sites in Nebraska. Against other Nebraska sites it stands out most in spring (98th percentile) and lowest in fall (31st). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 0.4 mi W, grown 2 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 0.4 mi W, grown 3 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: 94th percentile (spring 62nd, summer 93rd, fall 48th)
  • Nebraska: 91st percentile (spring 98th, summer 77th, fall 31st)
  • Western Corn Belt Plains: 61st percentile (spring 91st, summer 27th, fall 65th)

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, Clovers: white, alsike and red
  • Main flow: Jun 16 to Aug 15 — Soybeans
  • Season ends: Sep 15

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 714 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.4 mi W, blooms early Jun – late Aug
  • Corn: about 806 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.4 mi W, blooms late Jun – late Jul
  • Soybeans: about 498 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi S, blooms early Jun – late Aug
  • Soybeans: about 693 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.9 mi SE, blooms early Jun – late Aug
  • Soybeans: about 872 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.2 mi N, blooms early Jun – late Aug
  • Soybeans: about 179 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi E, blooms early Jun – late Aug

What the honey would be made of

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

Things to watch

  • Heavily developed. About 55% of the land within a mile is developed. Less room for forage, and more neighbors near the hives.
  • 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.