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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 47.5096, -112.3572

Estimated forage here is better than about 81% of sites in Montana. Against other Montana sites it stands out most in spring (97th percentile) and lowest in fall (36th). Biggest nearby bee crops: alfalfa (nearest 0.2 mi S, grown 3 of the last 5 years); canola (nearest 0.4 mi SE, grown 1 of the last 5 years); peas (nearest 1.0 mi SE, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow, less than 0.1 mi away.

Ranking

  • Continental US: 60th percentile (spring 51st, summer 74th, fall 78th)
  • Montana: 81st percentile (spring 97th, summer 67th, fall 36th)
  • Northwestern Glaciated Plains: 50th percentile (spring 94th, summer 41st, fall 42nd)

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

Season

  • First forage: Mar 16 — Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard)
  • Main flow: Apr 16 to Aug 31 — Alfalfa, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard)
  • Season ends: Oct 31

Bee crops nearby

  • Alfalfa: about 580 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.9 mi SW, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Canola: about 15 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.4 mi SE, blooms early May – late Jul
  • Alfalfa: about 123 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.4 mi W, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Canola: about 26 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.1 mi S, blooms early May – late Jul
  • Alfalfa: about 56 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.4 mi S, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Peas: about 57 acres in a typical year, nearest 1 mi SE, blooms late May – early Jul

What the honey would be made of

  • Spring honey (March to June): Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Canola, Native wildflowers; light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Alfalfa, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Summer-flowering shrubs; white
  • Fall honey (September to November): Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Alfalfa, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Spotted and diffuse knapweed; light amber
  • Whole season (March to November): Alfalfa, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), 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.