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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 46.9001, -102.4245

Estimated forage here is better than about 36% of sites in North Dakota. Against other North Dakota sites it stands out most in spring (73rd percentile) and lowest in summer (36th). Biggest nearby bee crops: canola (nearest 0.2 mi SE, grown 1 of the last 5 years); sunflower (nearest 0.4 mi E, grown 1 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 0.2 mi S, 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: 82nd percentile (spring 33rd, summer 88th, fall 97th)
  • North Dakota: 36th percentile (spring 73rd, summer 36th, fall 50th)
  • Northwestern Great Plains: 95th percentile (spring 70th, summer 94th, fall 93rd)

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

Bee crops nearby

  • Canola: about 58 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi W, blooms late Jun – early Aug
  • Canola: about 24 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.2 mi SE, blooms late Jun – early Aug
  • Canola: about 57 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi W, blooms late Jun – early Aug
  • Sunflower: about 47 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi S, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Sunflower: about 26 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi NE, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Sunflower: about 21 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi E, blooms early Jul – early Sep

What the honey would be made of

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

Things to watch

  • Lots of crops with little or no bee value. About 38% of the land within 3 miles is in crops bees get little from (such as wheat and other grains).

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.