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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 47.9284, -97.3608

Estimated forage here is better than about 72% of sites in North Dakota. Against other North Dakota sites it stands out most in fall (91st percentile) and lowest in summer (59th). Biggest nearby bee crops: sunflower (nearest 0.2 mi E, grown 1 of the last 5 years); soybeans (nearest 0.1 mi E, grown 1 of the last 5 years); canola (nearest 0.4 mi N, grown 3 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow, 0.15 mi S.

Ranking

  • Continental US: 96th percentile (spring 41st, summer 93rd, fall 100th)
  • North Dakota: 72nd percentile (spring 88th, summer 59th, fall 91st)
  • Lake Agassiz Plain: 78th percentile (spring 84th, summer 57th, fall 88th)

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, Sunflower
  • Season ends: Oct 15

Bee crops nearby

  • Sunflower: about 88 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi E, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 177 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi SW, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Sunflower: about 23 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.2 mi E, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 92 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.1 mi E, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Canola: about 21 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.4 mi N, blooms late Jun – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 448 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi S, blooms early Jul – early Sep

What the honey would be made of

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