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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 47.2998, -101.6239

Estimated forage here is better than about 39% of sites in North Dakota. Against other North Dakota sites it stands out most in spring (96th percentile) and lowest in summer (31st). Biggest nearby bee crops: canola (nearest 0.4 mi NE, grown 1 of the last 5 years); soybeans (nearest 0.3 mi N, grown 2 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 0.4 mi NE, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow, 0.11 mi NE. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 85th percentile (spring 53rd, summer 87th, fall 98th)
  • North Dakota: 39th percentile (spring 96th, summer 31st, fall 66th)
  • Northwestern Great Plains: 96th percentile (spring 98th, summer 93rd, fall 97th)

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: May 16 to Sep 15 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Soybeans, Alfalfa
  • Season ends: Oct 31

Bee crops nearby

  • Canola: about 52 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.4 mi NE, blooms late Jun – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 94 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi S, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Canola: about 11 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi NE, blooms late Jun – early Aug
  • Canola: about 72 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.7 mi NE, blooms late Jun – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 19 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi N, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Corn: about 72 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.4 mi NE, blooms late Jul – late 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), Canola; extra light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Soybeans, Alfalfa, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Canola; extra light amber
  • Fall honey (September to November): Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Clovers: white, alsike and red, Soybeans, Alfalfa; light amber
  • Whole season (March to November): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Soybeans, Alfalfa; 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.