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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 45.4095, -97.9008

Estimated forage here is better than about 93% of sites in South Dakota. Against other South Dakota sites it stands out most in spring (96th percentile) and lowest in summer (76th). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 0.4 mi N, grown 1 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 0.3 mi N, grown 4 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow, 0.15 mi W.

Ranking

  • Continental US: 96th percentile (spring 58th, summer 93rd, fall 93rd)
  • South Dakota: 93rd percentile (spring 96th, summer 76th, fall 83rd)
  • Northern Glaciated Plains: 68th percentile (spring 94th, summer 38th, fall 45th)

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: Jul 1 to Aug 31 — Soybeans
  • Season ends: Oct 15

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 2,479 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi W, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Corn: about 1,779 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi N, blooms late Jul – late Aug
  • Soybeans: about 720 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi NE, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 1,003 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.4 mi N, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Corn: about 1,094 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi W, blooms late Jul – late Aug
  • Soybeans: about 959 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.2 mi E, 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); extra light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Soybeans, Clovers: white, alsike and red; white
  • Fall honey (September to November): Soybeans, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster); 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

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.