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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 42.7823, -96.9251

Estimated forage here is better than about 75% of sites in South Dakota. Against other South Dakota sites it stands out most in spring (100th percentile) and lowest in fall (20th). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 0.7 mi S, grown 3 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 0.6 mi E, grown 4 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: open water, 0.18 mi NW. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 91st percentile (spring 76th, summer 89th, fall 67th)
  • South Dakota: 75th percentile (spring 100th, summer 61st, fall 20th)
  • Northern Glaciated Plains: 31st percentile (spring 100th, summer 11th, fall 12th)

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 531 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi N, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Corn: about 2,474 acres in a typical year, nearest 1 mi SW, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 969 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi S, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Soybeans: about 402 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.1 mi SW, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Corn: about 665 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi S, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 145 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.9 mi S, blooms late Jun – late 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, Dandelion, Garden flowers; extra light amber
  • Fall honey (September to November): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Garden flowers, 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 79% of the land within a mile is developed. Less room for forage, and more neighbors near the hives.

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.