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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 48.3063, -112.2529

Estimated forage here is better than about 73% of sites in Montana. Against other Montana sites it stands out most in spring (91st percentile) and lowest in summer (61st). Biggest nearby bee crops: canola (nearest 0.4 mi N, grown 1 of the last 5 years); alfalfa (nearest 0.6 mi NE, grown 2 of the last 5 years); lentils (nearest 0.5 mi N, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow, 0.3 mi S. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 52nd percentile (spring 41st, summer 70th, fall 92nd)
  • Montana: 73rd percentile (spring 91st, summer 61st, fall 73rd)
  • Northwestern Glaciated Plains: 44th percentile (spring 86th, summer 35th, fall 68th)

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

Season

  • First forage: Apr 1 — Dandelion, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Clovers: white, alsike and red
  • Main flow: May 1 to Aug 15 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Alfalfa, Dandelion
  • Fall flow: Sep 1 to Oct 15 — Alfalfa
  • Season ends: Oct 31

Bee crops nearby

  • Canola: about 71 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.4 mi NW, blooms early May – late Jul
  • Alfalfa: about 161 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi NE, blooms late Jun – late Oct
  • Canola: about 5 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.4 mi N, blooms early May – late Jul
  • Lentils: about 24 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi N, blooms late Jun – early Aug
  • Canola: about 35 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.6 mi N, blooms early May – late Jul
  • Canola: about 24 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.4 mi NE, blooms early May – late Jul

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): Alfalfa, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Canola; white
  • Fall honey (September to November): Alfalfa, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion; white
  • Whole season (March to November): Alfalfa, Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard); extra light amber

Things to watch

  • Lots of crops with little or no bee value. About 42% of the land within 3 miles is in crops bees get little from (such as wheat and other grains).
  • 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.