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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 43.2685, -102.3371

Estimated forage here is better than about 28% of sites in South Dakota. Against other South Dakota sites it stands out most in spring (84th percentile) and lowest in summer (28th). Biggest nearby bee crops: alfalfa (nearest 1.0 mi NW, grown 3 of the last 5 years); sorghum (nearest 2.1 mi NW, grown 2 of the last 5 years); millet (nearest 2.4 mi NW, 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: 38th percentile (spring 44th, summer 58th, fall 75th)
  • South Dakota: 28th percentile (spring 84th, summer 28th, fall 30th)
  • High Plains: 32nd percentile (spring 43rd, summer 36th, fall 73rd)

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

Bee crops nearby

  • Alfalfa: about 11 acres in a typical year, nearest 1 mi NW, blooms late Jun – early Sep
  • Alfalfa: about 35 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.1 mi NW, blooms late Jun – early Sep
  • Sorghum: about 68 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.4 mi NW, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Alfalfa: about 14 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.7 mi NW, blooms late Jun – early Sep
  • Alfalfa: about 15 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.1 mi NW, blooms late Jun – early Sep
  • Alfalfa: about 17 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.5 mi NW, blooms late Jun – early Sep

What the honey would be made of

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