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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 46.8679, -102.9909

Estimated forage here is better than about 23% of sites in North Dakota. Against other North Dakota sites it stands out most in spring (92nd percentile) and lowest in summer (20th). Biggest nearby bee crops: canola (nearest 1.1 mi SW, grown 1 of the last 5 years); sunflower (nearest 1.1 mi E, grown 1 of the last 5 years); alfalfa (nearest 0.7 mi SW, grown 4 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow, 0.17 mi W. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 71st percentile (spring 46th, summer 80th, fall 95th)
  • North Dakota: 23rd percentile (spring 92nd, summer 20th, fall 37th)
  • Northwestern Great Plains: 90th percentile (spring 96th, summer 85th, fall 87th)

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), Clovers: white, alsike and red
  • Main flow: May 16 to Sep 15 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Sunflower, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard)
  • Season ends: Oct 31

Bee crops nearby

  • Canola: about 113 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.5 mi W, blooms late Jun – early Aug
  • Sunflower: about 109 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.5 mi W, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Sunflower: about 26 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.1 mi E, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Alfalfa: about 144 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi SW, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Canola: about 21 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.1 mi SW, blooms late Jun – early Aug
  • Canola: about 27 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.4 mi S, blooms late Jun – early 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), Native wildflowers; extra light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Sunflower, Alfalfa, Canola, Clovers: white, alsike and red; extra light amber
  • Fall honey (September to November): Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Alfalfa, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Sunflower; light amber
  • Whole season (March to November): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Sunflower, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard); extra light amber

Things to watch

  • Lots of crops with little or no bee value. About 42% of the land within 3 miles is in crops bees get little from (such as wheat and other grains).
  • 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.