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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 48.3915, -97.7416

Estimated forage here is better than about 62% of sites in North Dakota. Against other North Dakota sites it stands out most in fall (94th percentile) and lowest in summer (48th). Biggest nearby bee crops: dry beans (nearest 0.2 mi S, grown 2 of the last 5 years); soybeans (nearest 0.2 mi SE, grown 3 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 0.5 mi E, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), less than 0.1 mi away. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 94th percentile (spring 44th, summer 91st, fall 100th)
  • North Dakota: 62nd percentile (spring 91st, summer 48th, fall 94th)
  • Lake Agassiz Plain: 66th percentile (spring 87th, summer 40th, fall 92nd)

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, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard)
  • Main flow: Jul 16 to Sep 15 — Soybeans, Dry Beans, Sunflower
  • Season ends: Oct 15

Bee crops nearby

  • Dry beans: about 489 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.2 mi S, blooms late Jul – late Sep
  • Soybeans: about 236 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi W, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 46 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.2 mi SE, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 150 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.9 mi N, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 69 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi SE, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 34 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi E, 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), Garden flowers; light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Soybeans, Dry Beans, Sunflower, Clovers: white, alsike and red; white
  • Fall honey (September to November): Dry Beans, Soybeans, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion; white
  • Whole season (March to November): Soybeans, Dry Beans, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion; extra light amber

Things to watch

  • Near a FEMA high-risk flood zone. A mapped high-risk flood zone (A) is within about 300 m. Check FEMA's map for the exact spot.

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.