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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 45.0243, -102.0353

Estimated forage here is better than about 40% of sites in South Dakota. Against other South Dakota sites it stands out most in spring (88th percentile) and lowest in summer (35th). Biggest nearby bee crops: alfalfa (nearest 1.1 mi NE, grown 1 of the last 5 years); millet (nearest 1.2 mi NE, grown 1 of the last 5 years); sorghum (nearest 3.1 mi W, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow, 0.19 mi E.

Ranking

  • Continental US: 49th percentile (spring 47th, summer 64th, fall 91st)
  • South Dakota: 40th percentile (spring 88th, summer 35th, fall 71st)
  • Northwestern Great Plains: 73rd percentile (spring 96th, summer 63rd, fall 60th)

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, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard)
  • Main flow: Apr 16 to Sep 15 — Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Clovers: white, alsike and red, Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster)
  • Fall flow: Oct 1 to Oct 15 — Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster)
  • Season ends: Oct 31

Bee crops nearby

  • Alfalfa: about 70 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.5 mi E, blooms late Jun – early Sep
  • Alfalfa: about 222 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.3 mi NE, blooms late Jun – early Sep
  • Alfalfa: about 7 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.1 mi NE, blooms late Jun – early Sep
  • Alfalfa: about 15 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.6 mi SW, blooms late Jun – early Sep
  • Alfalfa: about 9 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.5 mi E, blooms late Jun – early Sep
  • Alfalfa: about 3 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.1 mi NE, blooms late Jun – early Sep

What the honey would be made of

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