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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 44.3960, -99.1094

Estimated forage here is better than about 61% of sites in South Dakota. Against other South Dakota sites it stands out most in summer (64th percentile) and lowest in fall (21st). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 0.2 mi E, grown 2 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 0.1 mi S); sunflower (nearest 0.8 mi W, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow, less than 0.1 mi away.

Ranking

  • Continental US: 84th percentile (spring 32nd, summer 90th, fall 69th)
  • South Dakota: 61st percentile (spring 40th, summer 64th, fall 21st)
  • Northwestern Glaciated Plains: 75th percentile (spring 68th, summer 77th, fall 26th)

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

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 203 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.2 mi E, blooms late Jun – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 542 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi NE, blooms late Jun – early Sep
  • Corn: about 341 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.1 mi S, blooms late Jul – early Aug
  • Sunflower: about 109 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi W, blooms early Jul – late Aug
  • Corn: about 558 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi NE, blooms late Jul – early Aug
  • Corn: about 474 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), Sunflower, Alfalfa; light amber
  • Fall honey (September to November): Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Soybeans, Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Alfalfa; extra light amber
  • Whole season (March to November): Soybeans, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Sunflower, Alfalfa; extra light amber

Things to watch

  • No digital FEMA flood map here. FEMA has no digital flood map for this area. Ask the county, and look for low ground near creeks before placing hives.

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.