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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 46.7141, -97.0653

Estimated forage here is better than about 85% of sites in North Dakota. Against other North Dakota sites it stands out most in summer (86th percentile) and lowest in fall (43rd). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 0.1 mi E, grown 3 of the last 5 years); sunflower (nearest 0.3 mi SE, grown 1 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 0.2 mi N, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow, less than 0.1 mi away. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 99th percentile (spring 23rd, summer 99th, fall 96th)
  • North Dakota: 85th percentile (spring 49th, summer 86th, fall 43rd)
  • Lake Agassiz Plain: 94th percentile (spring 66th, summer 94th, fall 32nd)

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 13,077 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.1 mi E, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 645 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi E, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Sunflower: about 35 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi SE, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Corn: about 1,793 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.2 mi N, blooms late Jul – late Aug
  • Corn: about 1,362 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi S, blooms late Jul – late Aug
  • Corn: about 353 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.4 mi W, blooms late Jul – late Aug

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), Garden flowers; extra light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Soybeans, Sunflower; amber
  • Fall honey (September to November): Soybeans, Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard); extra light amber
  • Whole season (March to November): Soybeans, Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard); 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.