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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 42.0286, -97.4289

Estimated forage here is better than about 63% of sites in Nebraska. Against other Nebraska sites it stands out most in spring (99th percentile) and lowest in summer (48th). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 1.1 mi S, grown 1 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 1.0 mi W, grown 3 of the last 5 years); alfalfa (nearest 0.2 mi W, 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: 75th percentile (spring 71st, summer 77th, fall 75th)
  • Nebraska: 63rd percentile (spring 99th, summer 48th, fall 55th)
  • Western Corn Belt Plains: 2nd percentile (spring 96th, summer 2nd, fall 97th)

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: Apr 16 to Aug 15 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Garden flowers
  • Fall flow: Sep 1 to Sep 15 — Garden flowers, Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red
  • Season ends: Sep 30

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 37 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.1 mi S, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Corn: about 472 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.2 mi NE, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 39 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.4 mi SW, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Corn: about 166 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.8 mi SE, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Corn: about 40 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.1 mi S, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 127 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.2 mi E, blooms late Jun – late Aug

What the honey would be made of

  • Spring honey (March to June): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Garden flowers, Lindens / basswood; extra light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Garden flowers, Soybeans, Dandelion; extra light amber
  • Fall honey (September to November): Garden flowers, Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster); light amber
  • Whole season (March to November): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Garden flowers, Soybeans; extra light amber

Things to watch

  • Heavily developed. About 92% 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.