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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 42.2360, -97.0093

Estimated forage here is better than about 90% of sites in Nebraska. Against other Nebraska sites it stands out most in spring (98th percentile) and lowest in fall (37th). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 0.3 mi SE, grown 1 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 0.3 mi SE, grown 3 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: open water, 0.37 mi S. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 93rd percentile (spring 60th, summer 92nd, fall 57th)
  • Nebraska: 90th percentile (spring 98th, summer 77th, fall 37th)
  • Western Corn Belt Plains: 58th percentile (spring 90th, summer 26th, fall 78th)

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

Season

  • First forage: Apr 1 — Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red
  • Main flow: Jun 16 to Aug 31 — Soybeans
  • Season ends: Sep 30

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 3,924 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi SE, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Corn: about 3,347 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi SE, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Corn: about 3,769 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi NE, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 442 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi NW, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Soybeans: about 1,224 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.9 mi SW, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Corn: about 3,389 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.9 mi SW, blooms early Jul – early Aug

What the honey would be made of

  • Spring honey (March to June): Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Soybeans, Garden flowers; extra light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Soybeans, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Alfalfa; white
  • Fall honey (September to November): Garden flowers, Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red, 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 65% 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.