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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 46.3560, -98.2975

Estimated forage here is better than about 57% of sites in North Dakota. Against other North Dakota sites it stands out most in spring (96th percentile) and lowest in summer (47th). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 0.1 mi SW, grown 1 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 0.1 mi S, grown 3 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow, 0.13 mi SE. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 92nd percentile (spring 53rd, summer 91st, fall 97th)
  • North Dakota: 57th percentile (spring 96th, summer 47th, fall 52nd)
  • Northern Glaciated Plains: 36th percentile (spring 91st, summer 20th, fall 60th)

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

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 170 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.1 mi SW, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 1,696 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi N, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Corn: about 272 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.1 mi S, blooms late Jul – late Aug
  • Soybeans: about 206 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi E, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 213 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi W, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 155 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi NW, blooms early Jul – early Sep

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