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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 44.8733, -98.5196

Estimated forage here is better than about 67% of sites in South Dakota. Against other South Dakota sites it stands out most in spring (97th percentile) and lowest in fall (55th). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 0.4 mi E, grown 3 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 0.4 mi E, grown 2 of the last 5 years); alfalfa (nearest 0.7 mi SE). Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow, 0.36 mi N.

Ranking

  • Continental US: 88th percentile (spring 59th, summer 89th, fall 87th)
  • South Dakota: 67th percentile (spring 97th, summer 60th, fall 55th)
  • Northern Glaciated Plains: 16th percentile (spring 95th, summer 10th, fall 32nd)

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 16 to Aug 31 — Soybeans, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion
  • Season ends: Oct 15

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 417 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi NE, blooms late Jun – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 85 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi S, blooms late Jun – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 51 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.4 mi E, blooms late Jun – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 117 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi E, blooms late Jun – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 184 acres in a typical year, nearest 1 mi SE, blooms late Jun – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 130 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.9 mi NW, blooms late Jun – early Sep

What the honey would be made of

  • Spring honey (March to June): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Garden flowers; extra light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Soybeans, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Alfalfa; white
  • Fall honey (September to November): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Soybeans, Garden flowers; extra light amber
  • Whole season (March to November): Soybeans, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard); extra 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.