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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 42.9807, -97.4949

Estimated forage here is better than about 86% of sites in South Dakota. Against other South Dakota sites it stands out most in summer (89th percentile) and lowest in fall (6th). Biggest nearby bee crops: corn (nearest 0.1 mi N, grown 3 of the last 5 years); soybeans (nearest 0.1 mi E, grown 2 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), 0.13 mi NE. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 94th percentile (spring 34th, summer 96th, fall 45th)
  • South Dakota: 86th percentile (spring 49th, summer 89th, fall 6th)
  • Northern Glaciated Plains: 54th percentile (spring 66th, summer 69th, fall 4th)

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

Season

  • First forage: Apr 1 — Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard)
  • Main flow: Jul 1 to Aug 31 — Soybeans
  • Season ends: Aug 31

Bee crops nearby

  • Corn: about 1,872 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.1 mi N, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 666 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.1 mi E, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Soybeans: about 516 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.1 mi N, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Soybeans: about 150 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi SW, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Corn: about 172 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.2 mi NW, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Corn: about 976 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi W, blooms early Jul – early Aug

What the honey would be made of

  • Spring honey (March to June): Soybeans, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard); extra light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Soybeans, Alfalfa; white
  • Fall honey (September to November): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Spotted and diffuse knapweed, Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster); extra light amber
  • Whole season (March to November): Soybeans, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion; extra light amber

Things to watch

  • Near a FEMA high-risk flood zone. A mapped high-risk flood zone (A) is within about 300 m. Check FEMA's map for the exact spot.

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.