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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 45.9734, -102.4705

Estimated forage here is better than about 30% of sites in North Dakota. Against other North Dakota sites it stands out most in spring (94th percentile) and lowest in summer (24th). Biggest nearby bee crops: canola (nearest 0.2 mi W, grown 1 of the last 5 years); alfalfa (nearest 1.0 mi SE, grown 4 of the last 5 years); sunflower (nearest 0.9 mi NW, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow, less than 0.1 mi away.

Ranking

  • Continental US: 77th percentile (spring 48th, summer 83rd, fall 97th)
  • North Dakota: 30th percentile (spring 94th, summer 24th, fall 50th)
  • Northwestern Great Plains: 93rd percentile (spring 97th, summer 89th, fall 93rd)

Percentile among 3,000 random land points across North 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: May 16 to Aug 31 — Canola, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Clovers: white, alsike and red
  • Season ends: Oct 31

Bee crops nearby

  • Canola: about 45 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi W, blooms late Jun – early Aug
  • Canola: about 39 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi W, blooms late Jun – early Aug
  • Alfalfa: about 247 acres in a typical year, nearest 1 mi SE, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Canola: about 47 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.6 mi W, blooms late Jun – early Aug
  • Sunflower: about 109 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.8 mi E, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Canola: about 105 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.8 mi E, blooms late Jun – early 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), Canola; extra light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Canola, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Sunflower; extra light amber
  • Fall honey (September to November): Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Clovers: white, alsike and red, Alfalfa; light amber
  • Whole season (March to November): Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Canola, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster); extra light amber

Things to watch

  • Flood map not checked. FEMA's flood map service didn't answer. Check it directly.

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.