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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 45.6617, -99.5631

Estimated forage here is better than about 58% of sites in South Dakota. Against other South Dakota sites it stands out most in fall (70th percentile) and lowest in spring (26th). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (right here, grown 1 of the last 5 years); corn (right here, grown 3 of the last 5 years); sunflower (nearest 0.5 mi W, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow, 0.35 mi NW.

Ranking

  • Continental US: 81st percentile (spring 26th, summer 88th, fall 91st)
  • South Dakota: 58th percentile (spring 26th, summer 59th, fall 70th)
  • Northwestern Glaciated Plains: 71st percentile (spring 50th, summer 73rd, fall 66th)

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 — Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Dandelion
  • Main flow: Jul 1 to Aug 31 — Soybeans, Sunflower, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard)
  • Season ends: Oct 15

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 513 acres in a typical year, nearest 0 mi , blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Corn: about 837 acres in a typical year, nearest 0 mi , blooms late Jul – late Aug
  • Sunflower: about 77 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi W, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 1,096 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi W, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Corn: about 497 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi W, blooms late Jul – late Aug
  • Sunflower: about 29 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi S, 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): Soybeans, Sunflower, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster); light amber
  • Fall honey (September to November): Soybeans, Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Sunflower; light amber
  • Whole season (March to November): Soybeans, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Sunflower, Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster); light amber

Things to watch

  • No digital FEMA flood map here. FEMA has no digital flood map for this area. Ask the county, and look for low ground near creeks before placing hives.

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.