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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 47.9674, -112.3155

Estimated forage here is better than about 64% of sites in Montana. Against other Montana sites it stands out most in summer (68th percentile) and lowest in spring (16th). Biggest nearby bee crops: alfalfa (right here); canola (nearest 1.8 mi NE, grown 1 of the last 5 years); peas (nearest 0.6 mi N, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), 0.13 mi NW.

Ranking

  • Continental US: 44th percentile (spring 11th, summer 74th, fall 88th)
  • Montana: 64th percentile (spring 16th, summer 68th, fall 61st)
  • Northwestern Glaciated Plains: 36th percentile (spring 14th, summer 42nd, fall 60th)

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

Season

  • First forage: Apr 16 — Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Dandelion, Native wildflowers
  • Main flow: Jul 1 to Sep 15 — Alfalfa
  • Season ends: Oct 31

Bee crops nearby

  • Alfalfa: about 720 acres in a typical year, nearest 0 mi , blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Alfalfa: about 138 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi NE, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Canola: about 135 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.8 mi NE, blooms early May – late Jul
  • Alfalfa: about 257 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.1 mi NE, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Peas: about 75 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.2 mi SW, blooms early Jun – early Jul
  • Alfalfa: about 49 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 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), Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Native wildflowers; extra light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Alfalfa, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard); white
  • Fall honey (September to November): Alfalfa, Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Clovers: white, alsike and red; extra light amber
  • Whole season (March to November): Alfalfa, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion; 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.