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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 45.6834, -97.1579

Estimated forage here is better than about 60% of sites in South Dakota. Against other South Dakota sites it stands out most in spring (98th percentile) and lowest in summer (52nd). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 0.3 mi SE, grown 2 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 0.3 mi SE, grown 3 of the last 5 years); alfalfa (nearest 1.3 mi W). Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow, less than 0.1 mi away.

Ranking

  • Continental US: 83rd percentile (spring 62nd, summer 85th, fall 95th)
  • South Dakota: 60th percentile (spring 98th, summer 52nd, fall 93rd)
  • Northern Glaciated Plains: 7th percentile (spring 96th, summer 4th, fall 51st)

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), Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Dandelion
  • Main flow: Apr 16 to Sep 15 — Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Soybeans, Clovers: white, alsike and red
  • Season ends: Oct 31

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 1,044 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.3 mi NE, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 29 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi SE, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Corn: about 45 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi SE, blooms late Jul – late Aug
  • Soybeans: about 41 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi NW, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 51 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi NE, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 224 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.8 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), Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion; extra light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Soybeans, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Alfalfa; extra light amber
  • Fall honey (September to November): Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Soybeans, Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Clovers: white, alsike and red; extra light amber
  • Whole season (March to November): Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Soybeans, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar); 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.