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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.

Or tap the map. We don't store your address or exact location.

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 46.9195, -97.5491

Estimated forage here is better than about 80% of sites in North Dakota. Against other North Dakota sites it stands out most in fall (85th percentile) and lowest in spring (62nd). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 0.2 mi SE, grown 3 of the last 5 years); dry beans (nearest 0.3 mi N, grown 2 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 0.2 mi SE, grown 3 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: pond, lake or river, 0.34 mi N.

Ranking

  • Continental US: 98th percentile (spring 28th, summer 96th, fall 99th)
  • North Dakota: 80th percentile (spring 62nd, summer 75th, fall 85th)
  • Northern Glaciated Plains: 82nd percentile (spring 58th, summer 70th, fall 86th)

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
  • Main flow: Jul 16 to Aug 31 — Soybeans
  • Season ends: Sep 30

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 4,330 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.2 mi SE, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 991 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.4 mi SW, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Dry beans: about 390 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi N, blooms late Jul – late Sep
  • Corn: about 1,321 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi NE, blooms late Jul – late Aug
  • Corn: about 1,067 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.2 mi SE, blooms late Jul – late Aug
  • Soybeans: about 1,531 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.4 mi NW, blooms early Jul – early Sep

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; light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Soybeans, Dry Beans; water white
  • Fall honey (September to November): Soybeans, Dry Beans, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion; water white
  • Whole season (March to November): Soybeans, Dry Beans, Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red; extra light amber

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.