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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 47.6806, -97.9905

Estimated forage here is better than about 66% of sites in North Dakota. Against other North Dakota sites it stands out most in spring (91st percentile) and lowest in summer (56th). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 0.2 mi W, grown 2 of the last 5 years); canola (nearest 0.4 mi SE, grown 1 of the last 5 years); dry beans (nearest 0.7 mi NE, grown 2 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), 0.28 mi SW.

Ranking

  • Continental US: 94th percentile (spring 43rd, summer 92nd, fall 99th)
  • North Dakota: 66th percentile (spring 91st, summer 56th, fall 83rd)
  • Northern Glaciated Plains: 58th percentile (spring 81st, summer 32nd, fall 84th)

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
  • Main flow: Jul 1 to Sep 15 — Soybeans, Canola
  • Season ends: Oct 15

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 3,377 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.4 mi SE, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Canola: about 73 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi E, blooms late Jun – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 1,508 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi N, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 1,029 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi N, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 127 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi NE, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 180 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi S, blooms early Jul – early Sep

What the honey would be made of

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

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.