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.

Forage on the map in —

National map

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 44.0075, -97.7897

Estimated forage here is better than about 81% of sites in South Dakota. Against other South Dakota sites it stands out most in spring (97th percentile) and lowest in fall (34th). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 0.1 mi SE, grown 3 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 0.1 mi SE, grown 2 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow, 0.23 mi N.

Ranking

Continental US: 93rd percentile (spring 60th, summer 92nd, fall 78th)
South Dakota: 81st percentile (spring 97th, summer 69th, fall 34th)
Northern Glaciated Plains: 43rd percentile (spring 95th, summer 26th, fall 21st)

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 — Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard)
Main flow: Jun 16 to Aug 31 — Soybeans, Clovers: white, alsike and red
Season ends: Oct 15

Bee crops nearby

Soybeans: about 176 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.2 mi SW, blooms late Jun – late Aug
Soybeans: about 56 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.1 mi SE, blooms late Jun – late Aug
Soybeans: about 144 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi NW, blooms late Jun – late Aug
Corn: about 118 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.2 mi SW, blooms early Jul – early Aug
Corn: about 613 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi NW, blooms early Jul – early Aug
Soybeans: about 370 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.2 mi N, blooms late Jun – late Aug

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, Clovers: white, alsike and red; white
Fall honey (September to November): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Spotted and diffuse knapweed, Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster); 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

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.