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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 47.0693, -111.9672

Estimated forage here is better than about 55% of sites in Montana. Against other Montana sites it stands out most in spring (87th percentile) and lowest in fall (24th). Biggest nearby bee crops: alfalfa (nearest 0.2 mi E, grown 3 of the last 5 years); canola (nearest 0.6 mi W, grown 1 of the last 5 years); millet (nearest 0.6 mi S, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow, 0.11 mi SE. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 37th percentile (spring 37th, summer 64th, fall 72nd)
  • Montana: 55th percentile (spring 87th, summer 48th, fall 24th)
  • Northwestern Glaciated Plains: 30th percentile (spring 81st, summer 26th, fall 31st)

Percentile among 3,000 random land points across Montana, scored the same way; land in general, not beekeepers' yards.

Season

  • First forage: Mar 16 — Dandelion, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Willows
  • Main flow: May 1 to Aug 31 — Alfalfa, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Snowberry
  • Season ends: Oct 31

Bee crops nearby

  • Alfalfa: about 78 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.2 mi E, blooms early Jul – late Aug
  • Alfalfa: about 41 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.2 mi SE, blooms early Jul – late Aug
  • Alfalfa: about 55 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi NE, blooms early Jul – late Aug
  • Alfalfa: about 40 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi W, blooms early Jul – late Aug
  • Alfalfa: about 29 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.4 mi S, blooms early Jul – late Aug
  • Alfalfa: about 13 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi SW, blooms early Jul – late Aug

What the honey would be made of

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

Things to watch

  • Near a FEMA high-risk flood zone. A mapped high-risk flood zone (A) is within about 300 m. Check FEMA's map for the exact spot.

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.