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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 43.3861, -98.8434

Estimated forage here is better than about 70% of sites in South Dakota. Against other South Dakota sites it stands out most in spring (94th percentile) and lowest in fall (15th). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 0.4 mi NW, grown 1 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 0.4 mi NW, grown 2 of the last 5 years); sorghum (nearest 0.5 mi SE, grown 1 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: 89th percentile (spring 56th, summer 91st, fall 62nd)
  • South Dakota: 70th percentile (spring 94th, summer 66th, fall 15th)
  • Northwestern Glaciated Plains: 83rd percentile (spring 97th, summer 79th, fall 18th)

Percentile among 3,000 random land points across South Dakota, scored the same way; land in general, not beekeepers' yards.

Season

  • First forage: Apr 1 — Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red
  • Main flow: Jun 16 to Aug 31 — Soybeans, Clovers: white, alsike and red
  • Season ends: Sep 30

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 674 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi SE, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Soybeans: about 305 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.4 mi NW, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Corn: about 670 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi SE, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 230 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi E, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Soybeans: about 156 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi SW, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Corn: about 284 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi NE, blooms early Jul – early Aug

What the honey would be made of

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