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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.

Or tap the map. We don't store your address or exact location.

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 42.7831, -103.2571

Estimated forage here is better than about 63% of sites in Nebraska. Against other Nebraska sites it stands out most in spring (94th percentile) and lowest in fall (56th). Biggest nearby bee crops: alfalfa (nearest 0.1 mi E); millet (nearest 0.2 mi NW, grown 1 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 1.2 mi N, grown 2 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), less than 0.1 mi away.

Ranking

  • Continental US: 75th percentile (spring 51st, summer 83rd, fall 77th)
  • Nebraska: 63rd percentile (spring 94th, summer 58th, fall 56th)
  • Northwestern Great Plains: 92nd percentile (spring 98th, summer 89th, fall 14th)

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

Season

  • First forage: Mar 16 — Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Dandelion
  • Main flow: Jun 16 to Aug 31 — Alfalfa
  • Season ends: Oct 31

Bee crops nearby

  • Alfalfa: about 445 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.2 mi NW, blooms late Jun – early Sep
  • Alfalfa: about 465 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.1 mi E, blooms late Jun – early Sep
  • Alfalfa: about 271 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.1 mi N, blooms late Jun – early Sep
  • Alfalfa: about 51 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi SW, blooms late Jun – early Sep
  • Alfalfa: about 28 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.2 mi SE, blooms late Jun – early Sep
  • Alfalfa: about 213 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.3 mi NW, blooms late Jun – early Sep

What the honey would be made of

  • Spring honey (March to June): Alfalfa, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Dandelion; extra light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Alfalfa, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard); white
  • Fall honey (September to November): Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Alfalfa, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard); extra light amber
  • Whole season (March to November): Alfalfa, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Dandelion; extra light amber

Things to watch

  • 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.