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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 43.7587, -96.4738

Estimated forage here is better than about 95% of sites in South Dakota. Against other South Dakota sites it stands out most in summer (94th percentile) and lowest in fall (17th). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (right here, grown 3 of the last 5 years); corn (right here, 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: 96th percentile (spring 29th, summer 97th, fall 64th)
  • South Dakota: 95th percentile (spring 33rd, summer 94th, fall 17th)
  • Western Corn Belt Plains: 93rd percentile (spring 63rd, summer 69th, fall 87th)

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

Season

  • First forage: Apr 16 — Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red
  • Main flow: Jul 1 to Aug 31 — Soybeans
  • Season ends: Sep 15

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 2,983 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.2 mi N, blooms late Jun – early Sep
  • Corn: about 3,057 acres in a typical year, nearest 0 mi , blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 1,509 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi S, blooms late Jun – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 457 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.4 mi S, blooms late Jun – early Sep
  • Corn: about 2,018 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi S, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 74 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.2 mi NW, blooms late Jun – early Sep

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
  • Fall honey (September to November): Soybeans, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster); extra light amber
  • Whole season (March to November): Soybeans, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion; extra 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.