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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 43.8619, -98.3511

Estimated forage here is better than about 86% of sites in South Dakota. Against other South Dakota sites it stands out most in summer (91st percentile) and lowest in fall (5th). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (right here, grown 2 of the last 5 years); corn (right here, grown 3 of the last 5 years); sorghum (nearest 0.3 mi SW, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow, 0.12 mi NW.

Ranking

  • Continental US: 94th percentile (spring 22nd, summer 97th, fall 43rd)
  • South Dakota: 86th percentile (spring 19th, summer 91st, fall 5th)
  • Northern Glaciated Plains: 53rd percentile (spring 45th, summer 75th, fall 4th)

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, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard)
  • Main flow: Jul 1 to Aug 31 — Soybeans
  • Season ends: Aug 31

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 2,376 acres in a typical year, nearest 0 mi E, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Corn: about 4,604 acres in a typical year, nearest 0 mi E, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 1,168 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi N, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Soybeans: about 200 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi N, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Corn: about 561 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi N, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Corn: about 159 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.1 mi W, blooms early Jul – early Aug

What the honey would be made of

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