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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 46.9063, -98.6959

Estimated forage here is better than about 44% of sites in North Dakota. Against other North Dakota sites it stands out most in spring (99th percentile) and lowest in summer (32nd). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 0.9 mi E, grown 3 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 1.0 mi NE, grown 1 of the last 5 years); dry beans (nearest 1.4 mi S, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), 0.61 mi E. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 88th percentile (spring 65th, summer 87th, fall 97th)
  • North Dakota: 44th percentile (spring 99th, summer 32nd, fall 52nd)
  • Northern Glaciated Plains: 16th percentile (spring 97th, summer 6th, fall 60th)

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
  • Main flow: Apr 16 to Sep 15 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Soybeans
  • Season ends: Oct 15

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 2,015 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.2 mi E, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 287 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.2 mi E, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 1,884 acres in a typical year, nearest 2 mi SW, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 63 acres in a typical year, nearest 1 mi NE, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Corn: about 251 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.2 mi E, blooms late Jul – late Aug
  • Soybeans: about 538 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.8 mi NE, blooms early Jul – early Sep

What the honey would be made of

  • Spring honey (March to June): Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Garden flowers, Lindens / basswood; light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Soybeans, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Garden flowers; extra light amber
  • Fall honey (September to November): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Soybeans, Garden flowers; extra light amber
  • Whole season (March to November): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Soybeans, Garden flowers; extra light amber

Things to watch

  • Heavily developed. About 94% of the land within a mile is developed. Less room for forage, and more neighbors near the hives.

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.