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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 43.2977, -103.8334

Estimated forage here is better than about 44% of sites in South Dakota. Against other South Dakota sites it stands out most in spring (95th percentile) and lowest in summer (35th). Biggest nearby bee crops: sunflower (nearest 2.7 mi NE, grown 1 of the last 5 years); alfalfa (nearest 1.1 mi E, grown 1 of the last 5 years); millet (nearest 2.6 mi NE, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: pond, lake or river, 0.1 mi W.

Ranking

  • Continental US: 55th percentile (spring 57th, summer 64th, fall 85th)
  • South Dakota: 44th percentile (spring 95th, summer 35th, fall 50th)
  • Northwestern Great Plains: 79th percentile (spring 99th, summer 64th, fall 34th)

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 — Dandelion, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard)
  • Main flow: Apr 1 to Aug 31 — Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion
  • Fall flow: Sep 16 to Sep 30 — Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Dandelion
  • Season ends: Oct 31

Bee crops nearby

  • Sunflower: about 4 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.7 mi NE, blooms early Jul – late Aug
  • Alfalfa: about 2 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.1 mi E, blooms late Jun – early Sep
  • Alfalfa: about 3 acres in a typical year, nearest 2 mi N, blooms late Jun – early Sep
  • Sunflower: about 2 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.9 mi N, blooms early Jul – late Aug
  • Alfalfa: about 6 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.7 mi NE, blooms late Jun – early Sep
  • Millet: about 4 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.6 mi NE, blooms late Jul – early Sep

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

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.