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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 43.7258, -98.0441

Estimated forage here is better than about 62% of sites in South Dakota. Against other South Dakota sites it stands out most in spring (98th percentile) and lowest in fall (30th). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (right here, grown 1 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 0.4 mi W, grown 2 of the last 5 years); alfalfa (right here, grown 4 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow, less than 0.1 mi away. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 85th percentile (spring 64th, summer 87th, fall 75th)
  • South Dakota: 62nd percentile (spring 98th, summer 56th, fall 30th)
  • Northern Glaciated Plains: 9th percentile (spring 97th, summer 6th, 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: Mar 16 — Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red
  • Main flow: May 1 to Aug 31 — Soybeans, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion
  • Season ends: Sep 30

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 217 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.4 mi W, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Corn: about 192 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.4 mi W, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Alfalfa: about 54 acres in a typical year, nearest 0 mi , blooms late Jun – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 476 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.4 mi NW, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Soybeans: about 109 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.2 mi W, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Soybeans: about 34 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.9 mi NW, blooms late Jun – late Aug

What the honey would be made of

  • Spring honey (March to June): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Alfalfa, Soybeans; extra light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Soybeans, Alfalfa, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion; white
  • Fall honey (September to November): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Garden flowers, Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster); extra light amber
  • Whole season (March to November): Soybeans, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Alfalfa; extra light amber

Things to watch

  • Heavily developed. About 60% of the land within a mile is developed. Less room for forage, and more neighbors near the hives.
  • 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.