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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 47.1439, -99.9919

Estimated forage here is better than about 22% of sites in North Dakota. Against other North Dakota sites it stands out most in spring (87th percentile) and lowest in summer (19th). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 0.3 mi S, grown 1 of the last 5 years); alfalfa (nearest 0.2 mi N, grown 1 of the last 5 years); buckwheat (nearest 0.5 mi W, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: pond, lake or river, 0.28 mi E.

Ranking

  • Continental US: 68th percentile (spring 41st, summer 79th, fall 97th)
  • North Dakota: 22nd percentile (spring 87th, summer 19th, fall 48th)
  • Northwestern Glaciated Plains: 57th percentile (spring 86th, summer 51st, 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 1 — Dandelion, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard)
  • Main flow: Jul 1 to Sep 15 — Soybeans, Alfalfa, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard)
  • Season ends: Oct 31

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 309 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi E, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Alfalfa: about 79 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.2 mi N, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 97 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi N, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 267 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.3 mi E, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Buckwheat: about 7 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi W, blooms late Jul – early Oct
  • Alfalfa: about 64 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi NE, blooms early Jul – early Sep

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): Soybeans, Alfalfa, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster); extra light amber
  • Fall honey (September to November): Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Soybeans, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Alfalfa; light amber
  • Whole season (March to November): Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Soybeans, Alfalfa, Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster); extra light amber

Things to watch

  • Flood map not checked. FEMA's flood map service didn't answer. Check it directly.

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.