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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 45.6596, -100.5354

Estimated forage here is better than about 45% of sites in South Dakota. Against other South Dakota sites it stands out most in spring (86th percentile) and lowest in summer (42nd). Biggest nearby bee crops: sunflower (nearest 1.2 mi N, grown 1 of the last 5 years); soybeans (nearest 0.7 mi E, grown 1 of the last 5 years); alfalfa (nearest 0.7 mi E, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: pond, lake or river, less than 0.1 mi away. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 58th percentile (spring 45th, summer 73rd, fall 88th)
  • South Dakota: 45th percentile (spring 86th, summer 42nd, fall 59th)
  • Northwestern Great Plains: 81st percentile (spring 96th, summer 76th, fall 44th)

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 — Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Dandelion, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar)
  • Main flow: Apr 16 to Sep 15 — Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Soybeans
  • Season ends: Oct 31

Bee crops nearby

  • Sunflower: about 42 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.3 mi NE, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 52 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi E, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 237 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.5 mi E, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Alfalfa: about 115 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi E, blooms late Jun – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 63 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.1 mi SW, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Sunflower: about 26 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.5 mi E, blooms early Jul – early Sep

What the honey would be made of

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