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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.

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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 44.0539, -98.2732

Estimated forage here is better than about 85% of sites in South Dakota. Against other South Dakota sites it stands out most in spring (98th percentile) and lowest in fall (27th). Biggest nearby bee crops: corn (nearest 0.2 mi SE, grown 2 of the last 5 years); soybeans (nearest 0.3 mi SE, grown 2 of the last 5 years); sunflower (nearest 0.4 mi NE, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: open water, 0.19 mi NW. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 94th percentile (spring 62nd, summer 92nd, fall 73rd)
  • South Dakota: 85th percentile (spring 98th, summer 71st, fall 27th)
  • Northern Glaciated Plains: 49th percentile (spring 97th, summer 28th, fall 17th)

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
  • Main flow: Jun 16 to Aug 31 — Soybeans, Clovers: white, alsike and red
  • Season ends: Sep 30

Bee crops nearby

  • Corn: about 1,488 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.2 mi SE, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 242 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi SE, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Soybeans: about 211 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi NE, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Soybeans: about 658 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi N, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Corn: about 233 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi NE, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 537 acres in a typical year, nearest 1 mi S, 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, Sunflower, Alfalfa; extra light amber
  • Fall honey (September to November): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Spotted and diffuse knapweed; extra light amber
  • Whole season (March to November): Soybeans, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Sunflower; extra light amber

Things to watch

  • Near a FEMA high-risk flood zone. A mapped high-risk flood zone (A) is within about 300 m. Check FEMA's map for the exact spot.

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.