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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 43.0122, -100.5777

Estimated forage here is better than about 34% of sites in South Dakota. Against other South Dakota sites it stands out most in spring (83rd percentile) and lowest in summer (30th). Biggest nearby bee crops: sunflower (nearest 2.3 mi SW, grown 1 of the last 5 years); alfalfa (nearest 1.0 mi W, grown 1 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 2.3 mi SW, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: open water, 0.18 mi S.

Ranking

  • Continental US: 44th percentile (spring 43rd, summer 60th, fall 92nd)
  • South Dakota: 34th percentile (spring 83rd, summer 30th, fall 76th)
  • Northwestern Great Plains: 68th percentile (spring 94th, summer 56th, fall 66th)

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 — Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Native wildflowers, Dandelion
  • Main flow: Apr 16 to Sep 30 — Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Native wildflowers
  • Fall flow: Oct 16 to Oct 31 — Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster)
  • Season ends: Oct 31

Bee crops nearby

  • Sunflower: about 34 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.3 mi SW, blooms early Jul – late Aug
  • Alfalfa: about 15 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.1 mi NW, blooms late Jun – early Sep
  • Corn: about 151 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.5 mi S, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Corn: about 111 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.6 mi S, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Corn: about 178 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.7 mi SW, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Corn: about 61 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.3 mi SW, blooms early Jul – early Aug

What the honey would be made of

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

Things to watch

  • No digital FEMA flood map here. FEMA has no digital flood map for this area. Ask the county, and look for low ground near creeks before placing 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.