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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 45.4515, -98.1002

Estimated forage here is better than about 85% of sites in South Dakota. Against other South Dakota sites it stands out most in spring (94th percentile) and lowest in fall (52nd). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 0.3 mi NW, grown 3 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 0.3 mi NW, grown 3 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), 0.19 mi E. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 94th percentile (spring 54th, summer 92nd, fall 86th)
  • South Dakota: 85th percentile (spring 94th, summer 74th, fall 52nd)
  • Northern Glaciated Plains: 51st percentile (spring 92nd, summer 34th, fall 31st)

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: Sep 30

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 4,224 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi N, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 3,193 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi SW, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Corn: about 1,574 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi N, blooms late Jul – late Aug
  • Corn: about 3,493 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi NW, blooms late Jul – late Aug
  • Corn: about 437 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi SW, blooms late Jul – late Aug
  • Soybeans: about 70 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 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), Garden flowers; 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); 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

  • Near a FEMA high-risk flood zone. A mapped high-risk flood zone (AE) is within about 300 m. Check FEMA's map for the exact spot.

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.