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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 46.8868, -103.1960

Estimated forage here is better than about 29% of sites in North Dakota. Against other North Dakota sites it stands out most in spring (95th percentile) and lowest in summer (24th). Biggest nearby bee crops: canola (nearest 0.7 mi S, grown 1 of the last 5 years); sunflower (nearest 0.8 mi NW, grown 1 of the last 5 years); peas (nearest 0.6 mi SE, grown 2 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: 77th percentile (spring 51st, summer 83rd, fall 94th)
  • North Dakota: 29th percentile (spring 95th, summer 24th, fall 29th)
  • Northwestern Great Plains: 93rd percentile (spring 98th, summer 89th, fall 78th)

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: May 16 to Aug 31 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Canola, Sunflower
  • Season ends: Oct 31

Bee crops nearby

  • Canola: about 84 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi S, blooms late Jun – early Aug
  • Sunflower: about 53 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi NW, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Sunflower: about 28 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.2 mi S, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Sunflower: about 36 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.2 mi SW, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Canola: about 212 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.4 mi SW, blooms late Jun – early Aug
  • Peas: about 22 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi SE, blooms late May – early Jul

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

Things to watch

  • Lots of crops with little or no bee value. About 36% 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.