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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 48.5609, -97.1797

Estimated forage here is better than about 36% of sites in North Dakota. Against other North Dakota sites it stands out most in spring (89th percentile) and lowest in summer (33rd). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 0.4 mi W, grown 2 of the last 5 years); canola (nearest 0.4 mi S, grown 1 of the last 5 years); dry beans (nearest 0.4 mi S, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: open water, 0.17 mi E. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 83rd percentile (spring 42nd, summer 87th, fall 97th)
  • North Dakota: 36th percentile (spring 89th, summer 33rd, fall 53rd)
  • Lake Agassiz Plain: 18th percentile (spring 85th, summer 14th, fall 41st)

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 — Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard)
  • Main flow: Jul 1 to Sep 15 — Soybeans
  • Season ends: Oct 15

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 272 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.4 mi W, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 757 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi E, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 148 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi W, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 199 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.4 mi SE, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Canola: about 25 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.4 mi S, blooms late Jun – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 109 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.4 mi S, 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), Canola; light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Soybeans, Canola, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dry Beans; white
  • Fall honey (September to November): Soybeans, Dry Beans, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion; white
  • Whole season (March to November): Soybeans, Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Canola; extra light amber

Things to watch

  • Lots of crops with little or no bee value. About 43% 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.