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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 44.1194, -97.2128

Estimated forage here is better than about 74% of sites in South Dakota. Against other South Dakota sites it stands out most in summer (75th percentile) and lowest in fall (30th). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (right here, grown 2 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 0.2 mi E, grown 3 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow, less than 0.1 mi away. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 91st percentile (spring 37th, summer 93rd, fall 75th)
  • South Dakota: 74th percentile (spring 65th, summer 75th, fall 30th)
  • Northern Glaciated Plains: 29th percentile (spring 72nd, summer 37th, fall 18th)

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

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 547 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi W, blooms late Jun – early Sep
  • Corn: about 1,496 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.4 mi SE, blooms late Jul – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 251 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.4 mi NE, blooms late Jun – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 144 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi E, blooms late Jun – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 601 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi NW, blooms late Jun – early Sep
  • Corn: about 1,330 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi NW, blooms late Jul – early Aug

What the honey would be made of

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