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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 43.1829, -99.2928

Estimated forage here is better than about 55% of sites in South Dakota. Against other South Dakota sites it stands out most in spring (99th percentile) and lowest in fall (34th). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 0.5 mi S, grown 2 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 0.5 mi NE, grown 2 of the last 5 years); alfalfa (nearest 0.3 mi N, grown 4 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow, 0.33 mi SW.

Ranking

  • Continental US: 77th percentile (spring 65th, summer 80th, fall 78th)
  • South Dakota: 55th percentile (spring 99th, summer 49th, fall 34th)
  • Northwestern Glaciated Plains: 67th percentile (spring 99th, summer 54th, fall 42nd)

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), Dandelion
  • Main flow: Apr 16 to Aug 31 — Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion
  • Season ends: Oct 31

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 110 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi SE, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Soybeans: about 180 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.3 mi SW, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Corn: about 129 acres in a typical year, nearest 1 mi S, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Corn: about 44 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi SE, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Alfalfa: about 60 acres in a typical year, nearest 1 mi S, blooms late Jun – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 203 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.2 mi SW, blooms late Jun – late Aug

What the honey would be made of

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