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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 48.0018, -97.8774

Estimated forage here is better than about 59% of sites in North Dakota. Against other North Dakota sites it stands out most in fall (97th percentile) and lowest in spring (46th). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (right here, grown 2 of the last 5 years); canola (nearest 0.2 mi W, grown 1 of the last 5 years); corn (right here, grown 2 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow, less than 0.1 mi away.

Ranking

  • Continental US: 93rd percentile (spring 22nd, summer 92nd, fall 100th)
  • North Dakota: 59th percentile (spring 46th, summer 52nd, fall 97th)
  • Northern Glaciated Plains: 42nd percentile (spring 45th, summer 27th, fall 98th)

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: Jul 1 to Sep 15 — Soybeans, Dry Beans, Canola
  • Season ends: Oct 15

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 500 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.2 mi W, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 154 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi N, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 37 acres in a typical year, nearest 0 mi , blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Canola: about 13 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi E, blooms late Jun – early Aug
  • Canola: about 42 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi S, blooms late Jun – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 70 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi NE, 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, Canola, Dry Beans, Sunflower; white
  • Fall honey (September to November): Soybeans, Dry Beans, Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Sunflower; white
  • Whole season (March to November): Soybeans, Dry Beans, Canola, Clovers: white, alsike and red; white

Things to watch

  • Flood map not checked. FEMA's flood map service didn't answer. Check it directly.

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.