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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 45.3073, -96.4720

Estimated forage here is better than about 49% of sites in South Dakota. Against other South Dakota sites it stands out most in spring (89th percentile) and lowest in fall (31st). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 0.2 mi SE, grown 2 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 0.2 mi SE, grown 3 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: open water, 0.13 mi W.

Ranking

  • Continental US: 66th percentile (spring 47th, summer 79th, fall 76th)
  • South Dakota: 49th percentile (spring 89th, summer 48th, fall 31st)
  • Northern Glaciated Plains: 1st percentile (spring 86th, summer 2nd, fall 19th)

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: May 1 to Aug 31 — Soybeans, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion
  • Season ends: Oct 15

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 705 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.2 mi W, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 1,543 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.7 mi S, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 50 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi NW, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 20 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.2 mi SE, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 626 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.7 mi NE, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 853 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.7 mi NW, blooms early Jul – 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), Early trees (maple, willow, poplar); extra light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Soybeans, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard); extra light amber
  • Fall honey (September to November): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Soybeans, Dandelion, Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster); 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.