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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.

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 48.8094, -99.8264

Estimated forage here is better than about 60% of sites in North Dakota. Against other North Dakota sites it stands out most in spring (86th percentile) and lowest in summer and fall (57th). Biggest nearby bee crops: canola (right here, grown 1 of the last 5 years); soybeans (right here, grown 3 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow, less than 0.1 mi away.

Ranking

  • Continental US: 93rd percentile (spring 40th, summer 93rd, fall 98th)
  • North Dakota: 60th percentile (spring 86th, summer 57th, fall 57th)
  • Northern Glaciated Plains: 43rd percentile (spring 76th, summer 34th, fall 63rd)

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 — Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Dandelion, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar)
  • Main flow: Jun 16 to Aug 15 — Canola
  • Fall flow: Sep 1 to Sep 15 — Soybeans, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Alfalfa
  • Season ends: Oct 15

Bee crops nearby

  • Canola: about 71 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi S, blooms late Jun – early Aug
  • Canola: about 359 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.9 mi SE, blooms late Jun – early Aug
  • Canola: about 90 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi SW, blooms late Jun – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 336 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.9 mi SE, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 100 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.4 mi SW, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Canola: about 18 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi SE, blooms late Jun – early Aug

What the honey would be made of

  • Spring honey (March to June): Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Canola, Dandelion, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar); extra light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Canola, Soybeans, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Alfalfa; white
  • Fall honey (September to November): Soybeans, Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Alfalfa; light amber
  • Whole season (March to November): Canola, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Soybeans, Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster); 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.