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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 46.6815, -97.9701

Estimated forage here is better than about 41% of sites in North Dakota. Against other North Dakota sites it stands out most in spring (92nd percentile) and lowest in summer (35th). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (right here, grown 4 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 0.5 mi E, grown 2 of the last 5 years); canola (nearest 1.9 mi N, grown 1 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: 86th percentile (spring 44th, summer 88th, fall 99th)
  • North Dakota: 41st percentile (spring 92nd, summer 35th, fall 70th)
  • Northern Glaciated Plains: 12th percentile (spring 83rd, summer 8th, fall 73rd)

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 — Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Dandelion, Native wildflowers
  • Main flow: Jul 1 to Sep 15 — Soybeans, Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster)
  • Season ends: Oct 31

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 2,400 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi S, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 1,068 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.3 mi E, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 93 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi SE, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 51 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.2 mi E, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 104 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi NW, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 3,731 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.4 mi E, blooms early Jul – early Sep

What the honey would be made of

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