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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 48.3028, -98.3703

Estimated forage here is better than about 71% of sites in North Dakota. Against other North Dakota sites it stands out most in spring (83rd percentile) and lowest in summer (64th). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 0.1 mi NW, grown 2 of the last 5 years); canola (nearest 0.2 mi NW, grown 1 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 0.4 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: 96th percentile (spring 38th, summer 94th, fall 99th)
  • North Dakota: 71st percentile (spring 83rd, summer 64th, fall 77th)
  • Northern Glaciated Plains: 69th percentile (spring 73rd, summer 48th, fall 79th)

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 Aug 15 — Canola, Soybeans
  • Fall flow: Sep 1 to Sep 15 — Soybeans
  • Season ends: Oct 15

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 2,522 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.4 mi W, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Canola: about 195 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi NE, blooms late Jun – early Aug
  • Canola: about 89 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi SW, blooms late Jun – early Aug
  • Canola: about 66 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi NE, blooms late Jun – early Aug
  • Canola: about 27 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi W, blooms late Jun – early Aug
  • Canola: about 204 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.5 mi S, blooms late Jun – early Aug

What the honey would be made of

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