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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 43.9991, -97.3608

Estimated forage here is better than about 67% of sites in South Dakota. Against other South Dakota sites it stands out most in summer (69th percentile) and lowest in fall (21st). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 0.1 mi E, grown 2 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 0.1 mi E, grown 3 of the last 5 years); alfalfa (nearest 0.7 mi SW, grown 3 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: pond, lake or river, less than 0.1 mi away.

Ranking

  • Continental US: 88th percentile (spring 38th, summer 91st, fall 68th)
  • South Dakota: 67th percentile (spring 68th, summer 69th, fall 21st)
  • Northern Glaciated Plains: 16th percentile (spring 73rd, summer 24th, fall 12th)

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
  • Main flow: Jul 1 to Aug 31 — Soybeans
  • Season ends: Sep 30

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 538 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi E, blooms late Jun – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 265 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.2 mi SE, blooms late Jun – early Sep
  • Corn: about 1,637 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.4 mi S, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Corn: about 377 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.2 mi SE, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 148 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi N, blooms late Jun – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 836 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.4 mi S, blooms late Jun – early Sep

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