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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 46.0753, -97.3842

Estimated forage here is better than about 74% of sites in North Dakota. Against other North Dakota sites it stands out most in summer (73rd percentile) and lowest in fall (58th). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 0.1 mi SE, grown 4 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 0.1 mi NE, grown 2 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow, less than 0.1 mi away.

Ranking

  • Continental US: 96th percentile (spring 29th, summer 96th, fall 98th)
  • North Dakota: 74th percentile (spring 63rd, summer 73rd, fall 58th)
  • Northern Glaciated Plains: 73rd percentile (spring 59th, summer 66th, fall 64th)

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

Season

  • First forage: Apr 16 — Dandelion, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Clovers: white, alsike and red
  • Main flow: Jul 1 to Aug 31 — Soybeans
  • Season ends: Sep 15

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 4,096 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.1 mi SE, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 3,609 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi N, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 3,226 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi W, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 1,715 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi SW, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Corn: about 222 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.4 mi SW, blooms late Jul – late Aug
  • Corn: about 203 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.1 mi NE, blooms late Jul – late Aug

What the honey would be made of

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

Things to watch

  • No digital FEMA flood map here. FEMA has no digital flood map for this area. Ask the county, and look for low ground near creeks before placing hives.

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.