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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 47.8579, -101.5030

Estimated forage here is better than about 63% of sites in North Dakota. Against other North Dakota sites it stands out most in summer (68th percentile) and lowest in fall (24th). Biggest nearby bee crops: canola (nearest 0.3 mi E, grown 1 of the last 5 years); soybeans (nearest 0.4 mi N, grown 1 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 0.4 mi N, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow, 0.14 mi S.

Ranking

  • Continental US: 94th percentile (spring 26th, summer 95th, fall 93rd)
  • North Dakota: 63rd percentile (spring 57th, summer 68th, fall 24th)
  • Northwestern Glaciated Plains: 89th percentile (spring 50th, summer 89th, fall 72nd)

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: Jun 16 to Aug 15 — Canola, Soybeans
  • Season ends: Sep 30

Bee crops nearby

  • Canola: about 354 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi N, blooms late Jun – early Aug
  • Canola: about 286 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi S, blooms late Jun – early Aug
  • Canola: about 108 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.4 mi N, blooms late Jun – early Aug
  • Canola: about 44 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi E, blooms late Jun – early Aug
  • Canola: about 335 acres in a typical year, nearest 1 mi E, blooms late Jun – early Aug
  • Canola: about 317 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.9 mi SW, blooms late Jun – early Aug

What the honey would be made of

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

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.