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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 47.5959, -97.8987

Estimated forage here is better than about 76% of sites in North Dakota. Against other North Dakota sites it stands out most in fall (96th percentile) and lowest in summer (64th). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 0.2 mi S); corn (nearest 0.3 mi E, grown 2 of the last 5 years); dry beans (nearest 0.9 mi N, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow, less than 0.1 mi away.

Ranking

  • Continental US: 97th percentile (spring 34th, summer 94th, fall 100th)
  • North Dakota: 76th percentile (spring 76th, summer 64th, fall 96th)
  • Northern Glaciated Plains: 77th percentile (spring 67th, summer 48th, 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 16 — Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard)
  • Main flow: Jul 1 to Sep 15 — Soybeans
  • Season ends: Oct 15

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 15,451 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.2 mi S, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Corn: about 58 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi E, blooms late Jul – late Aug
  • Corn: about 29 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi E, blooms late Jul – late Aug
  • Soybeans: about 9 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi NW, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Corn: about 51 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.2 mi SE, blooms late Jul – late Aug
  • Corn: about 29 acres in a typical year, nearest 1 mi W, 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
  • Fall honey (September to November): Soybeans, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Dandelion; 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

  • 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.