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 44.5415, -101.9132

Estimated forage here is better than about 33% of sites in South Dakota. Against other South Dakota sites it stands out most in spring (92nd percentile) and lowest in summer (20th). Biggest nearby bee crops: sunflower (nearest 2.4 mi E, grown 2 of the last 5 years); millet (nearest 1.0 mi S, grown 1 of the last 5 years); alfalfa (nearest 0.1 mi S, grown 3 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow, less than 0.1 mi away.

Ranking

  • Continental US: 42nd percentile (spring 51st, summer 55th, fall 81st)
  • South Dakota: 33rd percentile (spring 92nd, summer 20th, fall 40th)
  • Northwestern Great Plains: 65th percentile (spring 98th, summer 42nd, 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: Mar 1 — Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard)
  • Main flow: Apr 1 to Aug 31 — Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Native wildflowers
  • Fall flow: Sep 16 to Sep 30 — Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard)
  • Season ends: Oct 31

Bee crops nearby

  • Sunflower: about 280 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.4 mi E, blooms early Jul – late Aug
  • Millet: about 62 acres in a typical year, nearest 1 mi S, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Alfalfa: about 6 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.1 mi S, blooms late Jun – early Sep
  • Sorghum: about 17 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.4 mi SW, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Sorghum: about 91 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.4 mi E, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Alfalfa: about 11 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.7 mi SW, blooms late Jun – early Sep

What the honey would be made of

  • Spring honey (March to June): Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Native wildflowers, Summer-flowering shrubs; light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Native wildflowers, Summer-flowering shrubs; light amber
  • Fall honey (September to November): Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard); amber
  • Whole season (March to November): Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Native wildflowers; 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.