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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 what blooms within flight range (about 3.7 miles, with nearer land counting more) and when, the gaps in the season, 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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Forage report for 47.7692, -102.3580

Estimated forage here is better than about 0% of sites in North Dakota. Against other North Dakota sites it ranks highest in spring (48th percentile) and lowest in summer (below the 1st). Biggest nearby bee crops: alfalfa (nearest 0.6 mi S, grown 1 of the last 5 years); millet (nearest 0.7 mi S, grown 1 of the last 5 years); soybeans (nearest 3.7 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: 11th percentile (spring 23rd, summer 30th, fall 63rd)
  • North Dakota: 0th percentile (spring 48th, summer 0th, fall 1st)
  • Northwestern Great Plains: 1st percentile (spring 24th, summer 0th, fall 3rd)

Percentile among 3,000 random land points across North Dakota, 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 Sep 15 — Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Native wildflowers
  • Fall flow: Oct 1 to Oct 15 — Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard)
  • Season ends: Oct 31

Bee crops nearby

  • Alfalfa: about 18 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi S, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Millet: about 17 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi S, blooms late Jul – late Sep
  • Alfalfa: about 176 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.8 mi W, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Alfalfa: about 20 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.7 mi W, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 3 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.7 mi N, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 4 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.7 mi N, blooms early Jul – early Sep

What the honey would be made of

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