Arcadia Bees
Nucs Queens About Nuc guide Forage Contact Join waitlist

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 44.4098, -103.5014

Estimated forage here is better than about 47% of sites in South Dakota. Against other South Dakota sites it stands out most in spring (95th percentile) and lowest in summer (40th). Biggest nearby bee crops: alfalfa (nearest 0.1 mi S, grown 1 of the last 5 years); sorghum (nearest 2.3 mi NW, grown 1 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 2.3 mi NW, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), 0.17 mi NW. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 60th percentile (spring 57th, summer 70th, fall 83rd)
  • South Dakota: 47th percentile (spring 95th, summer 40th, fall 46th)
  • Middle Rockies: 91st percentile (spring 99th, summer 70th, fall 44th)

Percentile among 3,000 random land points across South Dakota, scored the same way; land in general, not beekeepers' yards.

Season

  • First forage: Mar 16 — Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red
  • Main flow: Apr 16 to Aug 31 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion
  • Fall flow: Sep 16 to Sep 30 — Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion
  • Season ends: Oct 31

Bee crops nearby

  • Alfalfa: about 4 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.2 mi S, blooms late Jun – early Sep
  • Alfalfa: about 2 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.1 mi S, blooms late Jun – early Sep
  • Alfalfa: about 78 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.8 mi E, blooms late Jun – early Sep
  • Alfalfa: about 97 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.9 mi SE, blooms late Jun – early Sep
  • Alfalfa: about 4 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.9 mi E, blooms late Jun – early Sep
  • Alfalfa: about 4 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.2 mi NW, 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), Garden flowers; extra light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Dandelion, Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster); extra light amber
  • Fall honey (September to November): Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Garden flowers; light amber
  • Whole season (March to November): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard); light amber

Things to watch

  • Heavily developed. About 53% of the land within a mile is developed. Less room for forage, and more neighbors near the 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.