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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 44.2442, -97.0455

Estimated forage here is better than about 66% of sites in South Dakota. Against other South Dakota sites it stands out most in summer (67th percentile) and lowest in fall (36th). Biggest nearby bee crops: corn (nearest 0.3 mi NE, grown 3 of the last 5 years); soybeans (nearest 0.3 mi E, grown 2 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow, 0.1 mi W. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 87th percentile (spring 36th, summer 91st, fall 79th)
  • South Dakota: 66th percentile (spring 60th, summer 67th, fall 36th)
  • Northern Glaciated Plains: 15th percentile (spring 70th, summer 21st, 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, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Clovers: white, alsike and red
  • Main flow: Jul 1 to Aug 31 — Soybeans
  • Season ends: Sep 30

Bee crops nearby

  • Corn: about 2,206 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi NE, blooms late Jul – late Aug
  • Soybeans: about 540 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi E, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 1,081 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.4 mi S, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Corn: about 1,140 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi W, blooms late Jul – late Aug
  • Soybeans: about 94 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi NE, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 308 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.1 mi N, blooms early Jul – 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, Native wildflowers; extra light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Soybeans, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard); 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.