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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.

Or tap the map. We don't store your address or exact location.

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 46.5264, -97.9330

Estimated forage here is better than about 43% of sites in North Dakota. Against other North Dakota sites it stands out most in spring (93rd percentile) and lowest in summer (37th). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 0.6 mi W, grown 2 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 0.6 mi S, grown 2 of the last 5 years); sunflower (nearest 1.0 mi NE, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow, less than 0.1 mi away.

Ranking

  • Continental US: 87th percentile (spring 48th, summer 88th, fall 98th)
  • North Dakota: 43rd percentile (spring 93rd, summer 37th, fall 62nd)
  • Northern Glaciated Plains: 15th percentile (spring 87th, summer 9th, fall 67th)

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), Native wildflowers
  • Main flow: Jul 1 to Sep 15 — Soybeans
  • Season ends: Oct 31

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 815 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi W, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 229 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.9 mi E, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 285 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi S, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 208 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.9 mi S, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 232 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.2 mi E, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Corn: about 195 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.9 mi E, 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, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Alfalfa, Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster); extra light amber
  • Fall honey (September to November): Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Soybeans, 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, 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.