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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 48.2588, -101.4169

Estimated forage here is better than about 46% of sites in North Dakota. Against other North Dakota sites it stands out most in spring (98th percentile) and lowest in summer (36th). Biggest nearby bee crops: canola (nearest 1.0 mi NE, grown 1 of the last 5 years); soybeans (nearest 0.2 mi E, grown 2 of the last 5 years); sunflower (nearest 0.7 mi W, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow, less than 0.1 mi away.

Ranking

  • Continental US: 88th percentile (spring 60th, summer 88th, fall 97th)
  • North Dakota: 46th percentile (spring 98th, summer 36th, fall 51st)
  • Northern Glaciated Plains: 19th percentile (spring 95th, summer 9th, fall 60th)

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

Season

  • First forage: Apr 1 — Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Dandelion, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar)
  • Main flow: May 16 to Aug 31 — Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Soybeans, Canola
  • Season ends: Oct 15

Bee crops nearby

  • Canola: about 470 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.2 mi NE, blooms late Jun – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 163 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi S, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Canola: about 1,012 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.8 mi N, blooms late Jun – early Aug
  • Canola: about 126 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.4 mi S, blooms late Jun – early Aug
  • Sunflower: about 18 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi W, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 190 acres in a typical year, nearest 1 mi NE, 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, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar); extra light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Soybeans, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Canola, Clovers: white, alsike and red; extra light amber
  • Fall honey (September to November): Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Soybeans, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion; extra light amber
  • Whole season (March to November): Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Soybeans, Canola, Clovers: white, alsike and red; extra light amber

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.