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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 45.8296, -108.3981

Estimated forage here is better than about 84% of sites in Montana. Against other Montana sites it stands out most in spring (99th percentile) and lowest in fall (25th). Biggest nearby bee crops: alfalfa (nearest 0.2 mi E); corn (nearest 1.0 mi SW, grown 2 of the last 5 years); chickpeas (nearest 1.2 mi S, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), less than 0.1 mi away. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 63rd percentile (spring 65th, summer 69th, fall 72nd)
  • Montana: 84th percentile (spring 99th, summer 59th, fall 25th)
  • Northwestern Great Plains: 84th percentile (spring 100th, summer 72nd, fall 9th)

Percentile among 3,000 random land points across Montana, scored the same way; land in general, not beekeepers' yards.

Season

  • First forage: Mar 1 — Dandelion, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard)
  • Main flow: Apr 1 to Aug 15 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Alfalfa
  • Season ends: Oct 31

Bee crops nearby

  • Alfalfa: about 17 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.2 mi E, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Alfalfa: about 15 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.2 mi N, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Alfalfa: about 24 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi NW, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Corn: about 298 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.1 mi N, blooms late Jul – early Sep
  • Alfalfa: about 25 acres in a typical year, nearest 1 mi NW, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Alfalfa: about 7 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.4 mi NW, blooms late Jun – late Aug

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), Early trees (maple, willow, poplar); light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Alfalfa, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Dandelion; extra light amber
  • Fall honey (September to November): Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Garden flowers; light amber
  • Whole season (March to November): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Alfalfa, 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.