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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 44.8793, -98.3106

Estimated forage here is better than about 96% of sites in South Dakota. Against other South Dakota sites it stands out most in summer (90th percentile) and lowest in fall (35th). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (right here, grown 3 of the last 5 years); corn (right here, grown 2 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow, 0.33 mi NE.

Ranking

  • Continental US: 97th percentile (spring 38th, summer 96th, fall 79th)
  • South Dakota: 96th percentile (spring 69th, summer 90th, fall 35th)
  • Northern Glaciated Plains: 75th percentile (spring 73rd, summer 72nd, 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, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard)
  • Main flow: Jul 1 to Aug 31 — Soybeans
  • Season ends: Sep 15

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 522 acres in a typical year, nearest 0 mi , blooms late Jun – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 3,393 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.4 mi E, blooms late Jun – early Sep
  • Corn: about 950 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.2 mi NW, blooms late Jul – early Aug
  • Corn: about 2,676 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi NE, blooms late Jul – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 1,219 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.1 mi N, blooms late Jun – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 1,726 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.1 mi SW, blooms late Jun – early Sep

What the honey would be made of

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

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.