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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 48.6352, -99.6179

Estimated forage here is better than about 92% of sites in North Dakota. Against other North Dakota sites it stands out most in summer (90th percentile) and lowest in spring (55th). Biggest nearby bee crops: canola (nearest 0.3 mi S, grown 1 of the last 5 years); soybeans (nearest 0.3 mi NE, grown 2 of the last 5 years); sunflower (nearest 0.5 mi SW, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow, 0.15 mi SW. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 99th percentile (spring 25th, summer 100th, fall 98th)
  • North Dakota: 92nd percentile (spring 55th, summer 90th, fall 66th)
  • Northern Glaciated Plains: 91st percentile (spring 51st, summer 91st, fall 70th)

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

Bee crops nearby

  • Canola: about 392 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi S, blooms late Jun – early Aug
  • Canola: about 89 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi W, blooms late Jun – early Aug
  • Canola: about 59 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi NE, blooms late Jun – early Aug
  • Canola: about 115 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi SW, blooms late Jun – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 269 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi NE, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Canola: about 661 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.3 mi W, blooms late Jun – early Aug

What the honey would be made of

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

Things to watch

  • Lots of crops with little or no bee value. About 39% of the land within 3 miles is in crops bees get little from (such as wheat and other grains).

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.