Arcadia Bees
Nucs Queens About Nuc guide Forage Contact Join waitlist

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.

Or tap the map. We don't store your address or exact location.

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 48.6260, -98.0466

Estimated forage here is better than about 95% of sites in North Dakota. Against other North Dakota sites it stands out most in summer (94th percentile) and lowest in spring (65th). Biggest nearby bee crops: canola (nearest 0.1 mi W, grown 1 of the last 5 years); soybeans (nearest 0.1 mi W, grown 1 of the last 5 years); dry beans (nearest 0.9 mi SE, grown 2 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), 0.16 mi SE.

Ranking

  • Continental US: 100th percentile (spring 30th, summer 100th, fall 99th)
  • North Dakota: 95th percentile (spring 65th, summer 94th, fall 69th)
  • Northern Glaciated Plains: 95th percentile (spring 60th, summer 94th, fall 72nd)

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

Season

  • First forage: May 1 — Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard)
  • Main flow: Jul 1 to Aug 15 — Canola, Soybeans
  • Season ends: Sep 30

Bee crops nearby

  • Canola: about 850 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.2 mi SE, blooms late Jun – early Aug
  • Canola: about 260 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi W, blooms late Jun – early Aug
  • Canola: about 93 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi N, blooms late Jun – early Aug
  • Canola: about 571 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi NW, blooms late Jun – early Aug
  • Canola: about 1,106 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.2 mi N, blooms late Jun – early Aug
  • Canola: about 1,697 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.5 mi W, blooms late Jun – early Aug

What the honey would be made of

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

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.