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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 47.0780, -98.5849

Estimated forage here is better than about 41% of sites in North Dakota. Against other North Dakota sites it stands out most in spring (68th percentile) and lowest in summer (41st). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 0.2 mi N, grown 2 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 0.2 mi N, grown 3 of the last 5 years); sunflower (nearest 0.8 mi SE, 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: 86th percentile (spring 31st, summer 90th, fall 98th)
  • North Dakota: 41st percentile (spring 68th, summer 41st, fall 58th)
  • Northern Glaciated Plains: 12th percentile (spring 62nd, summer 13th, fall 64th)

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: Jul 16 to Sep 15 — Soybeans
  • Season ends: Oct 15

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 3,642 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.2 mi N, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Corn: about 322 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.2 mi N, blooms late Jul – late Aug
  • Sunflower: about 80 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi SE, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 1,544 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi SE, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 290 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi E, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Corn: about 1,020 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi SE, blooms late Jul – late Aug

What the honey would be made of

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

Things to watch

  • Near a FEMA high-risk flood zone. A mapped high-risk flood zone (AE) 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.