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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 44.1513, -103.3344

Estimated forage here is better than about 14% of sites in South Dakota. Against other South Dakota sites it stands out most in spring (64th percentile) and lowest in summer (27th). Biggest nearby bee crops: corn (nearest 1.6 mi NE, grown 2 of the last 5 years); alfalfa (nearest 1.7 mi NE, grown 1 of the last 5 years); sorghum (nearest 1.7 mi NE, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), less than 0.1 mi away.

Ranking

  • Continental US: 29th percentile (spring 37th, summer 58th, fall 74th)
  • South Dakota: 14th percentile (spring 64th, summer 27th, fall 29th)
  • Middle Rockies: 57th percentile (spring 94th, summer 35th, fall 23rd)

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: May 1 to Sep 15 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Snowberry, Dandelion
  • Season ends: Oct 31

Bee crops nearby

  • Corn: about 26 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.6 mi NE, blooms late Jul – late Sep
  • Alfalfa: about 8 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.9 mi E, blooms late Jun – early Sep
  • Alfalfa: about 5 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.9 mi NE, blooms late Jun – early Sep
  • Alfalfa: about 12 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.5 mi SE, blooms late Jun – early Sep
  • Alfalfa: about 2 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.7 mi NE, blooms late Jun – early Sep
  • Alfalfa: about 12 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.8 mi SE, blooms late Jun – early Sep

What the honey would be made of

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