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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 48.4965, -99.7039

Estimated forage here is better than about 71% of sites in North Dakota. Against other North Dakota sites it stands out most in summer (72nd percentile) and lowest in spring (49th). Biggest nearby bee crops: canola (nearest 0.2 mi S, grown 1 of the last 5 years); soybeans (nearest 0.2 mi SE, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow, 0.11 mi SE.

Ranking

  • Continental US: 96th percentile (spring 23rd, summer 95th, fall 97th)
  • North Dakota: 71st percentile (spring 49th, summer 72nd, fall 55th)
  • Northern Glaciated Plains: 67th percentile (spring 47th, summer 65th, fall 62nd)

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: Sep 30

Bee crops nearby

  • Canola: about 98 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.2 mi S, blooms late Jun – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 1,038 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi W, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Canola: about 35 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.4 mi N, blooms late Jun – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 642 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi E, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 486 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.4 mi N, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Canola: about 92 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi W, blooms late Jun – early Aug

What the honey would be made of

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

Things to watch

  • 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.