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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 47.8060, -103.4443

Estimated forage here is better than about 22% of sites in North Dakota. Against other North Dakota sites it stands out most in spring (68th percentile) and lowest in fall (3rd). Biggest nearby bee crops: canola (right here, grown 1 of the last 5 years); peas (right here, grown 1 of the last 5 years); soybeans (nearest 0.2 mi SE, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow, 0.11 mi S. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 69th percentile (spring 31st, summer 85th, fall 72nd)
  • North Dakota: 22nd percentile (spring 68th, summer 27th, fall 3rd)
  • Northwestern Great Plains: 88th percentile (spring 63rd, summer 91st, fall 9th)

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

Season

  • First forage: Apr 1 — Dandelion, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard)
  • Main flow: Jun 16 to Jul 31 — Canola
  • Fall flow: Aug 16 to Aug 31 — Soybeans, Alfalfa, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard)
  • Season ends: Oct 15

Bee crops nearby

  • Canola: about 93 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.2 mi SE, blooms late Jun – early Aug
  • Canola: about 23 acres in a typical year, nearest 0 mi W, blooms late Jun – early Aug
  • Peas: about 51 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.4 mi NE, blooms late May – early Jul
  • Soybeans: about 42 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.2 mi SE, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Peas: about 21 acres in a typical year, nearest 0 mi W, blooms late May – early Jul
  • Soybeans: about 54 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): Canola, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Dandelion, Peas; extra light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Canola, Soybeans, Alfalfa, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard); white
  • Fall honey (September to November): Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Soybeans, Alfalfa, Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster); extra light amber
  • Whole season (March to November): Canola, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Soybeans, Alfalfa; white

Things to watch

  • Lots of crops with little or no bee value. About 46% of the land within 3 miles is in crops bees get little from (such as wheat and other grains).

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.