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 45.8502, -118.6582

Estimated forage here is better than about 47% of sites in Oregon. Against other Oregon sites it stands out most in spring (70th percentile) and lowest in fall (30th). Biggest nearby bee crops: mustard (nearest 1.1 mi S, grown 1 of the last 5 years); peas (nearest 1.2 mi SE, grown 1 of the last 5 years); alfalfa (nearest 1.0 mi SE, grown 3 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), less than 0.1 mi away. 2 things to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 46th percentile (spring 65th, summer 56th, fall 38th)
  • Oregon: 47th percentile (spring 70th, summer 40th, fall 30th)
  • Columbia Plateau: 46th percentile (spring 85th, summer 23rd, fall 9th)

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

Season

  • First forage: Mar 1 — Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Dandelion
  • Main flow: Mar 16 to Jul 15 — Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard)
  • Fall flow: Aug 1 to Aug 31 — Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard)
  • Season ends: Sep 30

Bee crops nearby

  • Mustard: about 16 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.1 mi S, blooms late May – late Jun
  • Mustard: about 22 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.3 mi SE, blooms late May – late Jun
  • Peas: about 75 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.3 mi S, blooms early May – early Jun
  • Mustard: about 97 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.4 mi SW, blooms late May – late Jun
  • Alfalfa: about 81 acres in a typical year, nearest 1 mi SE, blooms early Jun – early Aug
  • Peas: about 249 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.3 mi S, blooms early May – early Jun

What the honey would be made of

  • Spring honey (March to June): Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red; extra light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard); extra light amber
  • Fall honey (September to November): Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Garden flowers, Spotted and diffuse knapweed, Clovers: white, alsike and red; extra light amber
  • Whole season (March to November): Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red; extra light amber

Things to watch

  • Lots of crops with little or no bee value. About 54% of the land within 3 miles is in crops bees get little from (such as wheat and other grains).
  • 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.