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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 41.1117, -98.0016

Estimated forage here is better than about 77% of sites in Nebraska. Against other Nebraska sites it stands out most in spring (99th percentile) and lowest in fall (34th). Biggest nearby bee crops: corn (nearest 0.4 mi E, grown 4 of the last 5 years); soybeans (nearest 0.4 mi E, grown 2 of the last 5 years); popcorn and ornamental corn (nearest 1.1 mi S, grown 4 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: 87th percentile (spring 69th, summer 88th, fall 53rd)
  • Nebraska: 77th percentile (spring 99th, summer 66th, fall 34th)
  • Central Great Plains: 91st percentile (spring 82nd, summer 82nd, fall 54th)

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, Clovers: white, alsike and red
  • Season ends: Sep 30

Bee crops nearby

  • Corn: about 3,017 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.4 mi E, blooms late Jun – late Jul
  • Corn: about 5,255 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi W, blooms late Jun – late Jul
  • Corn: about 2,508 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.9 mi NE, blooms late Jun – late Jul
  • Soybeans: about 118 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi N, blooms early Jun – late Aug
  • Soybeans: about 103 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi SE, blooms early Jun – late Aug
  • Soybeans: about 687 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.6 mi W, blooms early Jun – late Aug

What the honey would be made of

  • Spring honey (March to June): Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Soybeans, Black locust; extra light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Soybeans, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Garden flowers, Dandelion; extra light amber
  • 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, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Garden flowers; extra light amber

Things to watch

  • Heavily developed. About 58% 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.