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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 45.8623, -97.2865

Estimated forage here is better than about 72% of sites in South Dakota. Against other South Dakota sites it stands out most in fall (94th percentile) and lowest in summer (68th). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 0.3 mi NE, grown 3 of the last 5 years); alfalfa (nearest 0.2 mi NE, grown 2 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 0.3 mi E, grown 4 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: 90th percentile (spring 40th, summer 91st, fall 95th)
  • South Dakota: 72nd percentile (spring 75th, summer 68th, fall 94th)
  • Northern Glaciated Plains: 24th percentile (spring 76th, summer 23rd, fall 52nd)

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 — Dandelion, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Clovers: white, alsike and red
  • Main flow: Jul 1 to Aug 31 — Alfalfa, Soybeans
  • Season ends: Sep 30

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 262 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi NE, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Alfalfa: about 1,623 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi SE, blooms late Jun – early Sep
  • Corn: about 823 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi E, blooms late Jul – late Aug
  • Corn: about 518 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi N, blooms late Jul – late Aug
  • Corn: about 589 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi SW, blooms late Jul – late Aug
  • Corn: about 1,806 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi E, blooms late Jul – late Aug

What the honey would be made of

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

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.