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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 47.5411, -98.2304

Estimated forage here is better than about 56% of sites in North Dakota. Against other North Dakota sites it stands out most in fall (86th percentile) and lowest in summer (50th). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (right here, grown 3 of the last 5 years); corn (right here, grown 2 of the last 5 years); dry beans (nearest 0.3 mi SW, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow, less than 0.1 mi away.

Ranking

  • Continental US: 91st percentile (spring 33rd, summer 91st, fall 99th)
  • North Dakota: 56th percentile (spring 71st, summer 50th, fall 86th)
  • Northern Glaciated Plains: 34th percentile (spring 64th, summer 24th, fall 87th)

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, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Clovers: white, alsike and red
  • Main flow: Jul 1 to Sep 15 — Soybeans
  • Season ends: Oct 15

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 4,615 acres in a typical year, nearest 0 mi , blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 405 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.2 mi N, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 468 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi NE, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Corn: about 425 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi SW, blooms late Jul – late Aug
  • Soybeans: about 131 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.1 mi NW, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 30 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi E, blooms early Jul – early Sep

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

Things to watch

  • No digital FEMA flood map here. FEMA has no digital flood map for this area. Ask the county, and look for low ground near creeks before placing hives.

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.