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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 43.8213, -97.2013

Estimated forage here is better than about 83% of sites in South Dakota. Against other South Dakota sites it stands out most in spring (83rd percentile) and lowest in fall (20th). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 0.1 mi NE, grown 3 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 0.2 mi NE, grown 2 of the last 5 years); alfalfa (nearest 0.2 mi NE, grown 3 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: pond, lake or river, 0.11 mi NW.

Ranking

  • Continental US: 93rd percentile (spring 43rd, summer 94th, fall 66th)
  • South Dakota: 83rd percentile (spring 83rd, summer 80th, fall 20th)
  • Northern Glaciated Plains: 46th percentile (spring 82nd, summer 48th, fall 11th)

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 — Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red
  • Main flow: Jul 1 to Aug 31 — Soybeans
  • Season ends: Sep 30

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 1,522 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi S, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Corn: about 1,004 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.2 mi NE, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 192 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.1 mi NE, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Soybeans: about 1,513 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.7 mi W, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Soybeans: about 46 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.4 mi W, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Corn: about 543 acres in a typical year, nearest 1 mi NE, blooms early Jul – early Aug

What the honey would be made of

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