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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 48.0757, -98.6348

Estimated forage here is better than about 49% of sites in North Dakota. Against other North Dakota sites it stands out most in fall (75th percentile) and lowest in summer (49th). Biggest nearby bee crops: canola (nearest 0.1 mi E, grown 1 of the last 5 years); soybeans (nearest 0.1 mi E, grown 1 of the last 5 years); dry beans (nearest 0.5 mi NE, grown 2 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: open water, less than 0.1 mi away.

Ranking

  • Continental US: 89th percentile (spring 23rd, summer 91st, fall 99th)
  • North Dakota: 49th percentile (spring 50th, summer 49th, fall 75th)
  • Northern Glaciated Plains: 23rd percentile (spring 48th, summer 23rd, fall 78th)

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, Canola
  • Season ends: Oct 15

Bee crops nearby

  • Canola: about 117 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.1 mi E, blooms late Jun – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 792 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.2 mi W, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Canola: about 24 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.2 mi W, blooms late Jun – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 349 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi S, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 170 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.2 mi N, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 198 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.1 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, Clovers: white, alsike and red; extra light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Soybeans, Canola, Dry Beans, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard); white
  • Fall honey (September to November): Soybeans, Dry Beans, Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard); extra light amber
  • Whole season (March to November): Soybeans, Canola, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Dry Beans; 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.