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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 42.5364, -96.4961

Estimated forage here is better than about 56% of sites in South Dakota. Against other South Dakota sites it stands out most in spring (97th percentile) and lowest in fall (18th). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 0.3 mi S, grown 1 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 0.4 mi E, grown 3 of the last 5 years); alfalfa (nearest 0.4 mi NE, grown 4 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: pond, lake or river, 0.49 mi W. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 78th percentile (spring 60th, summer 84th, fall 65th)
  • South Dakota: 56th percentile (spring 97th, summer 52nd, fall 18th)
  • Western Corn Belt Plains: 3rd percentile (spring 90th, summer 4th, fall 87th)

Percentile among 3,000 random land points across South Dakota, 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

  • Soybeans: about 331 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi N, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Corn: about 1,543 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi NE, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Corn: about 844 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi W, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 196 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi SW, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Soybeans: about 183 acres in a typical year, nearest 1 mi SW, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Soybeans: about 50 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi E, blooms late Jun – late Aug

What the honey would be made of

  • Spring honey (March to June): Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Soybeans, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard); extra light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Soybeans, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Garden flowers; extra light amber
  • Fall honey (September to November): Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Garden flowers, Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red; 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 54% 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.