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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 43.3051, -100.6593

Estimated forage here is better than about 52% of sites in South Dakota. Against other South Dakota sites it stands out most in spring (94th percentile) and lowest in summer (48th). Biggest nearby bee crops: sunflower (nearest 0.8 mi NW, grown 1 of the last 5 years); alfalfa (nearest 0.5 mi NE, grown 3 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 0.8 mi S, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: open water, 0.11 mi SW.

Ranking

  • Continental US: 72nd percentile (spring 55th, summer 79th, fall 85th)
  • South Dakota: 52nd percentile (spring 94th, summer 48th, fall 49th)
  • Northwestern Great Plains: 90th percentile (spring 99th, summer 84th, fall 32nd)

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

Bee crops nearby

  • Sunflower: about 55 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi NW, blooms early Jul – late Aug
  • Sunflower: about 47 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.2 mi W, blooms early Jul – late Aug
  • Alfalfa: about 87 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi NE, blooms late Jun – early Sep
  • Sunflower: about 25 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.4 mi S, blooms early Jul – late Aug
  • Alfalfa: about 102 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi W, blooms late Jun – early Sep
  • Alfalfa: about 139 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.1 mi S, blooms late Jun – early Sep

What the honey would be made of

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

Things to watch

  • Flood map not checked. FEMA's flood map service didn't answer. Check it directly.

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.