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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 what blooms within flight range (about 3.7 miles, with nearer land counting more) and when, the gaps in the season, 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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Forage report for 48.8660, -98.5292

Estimated forage here is better than about 100% of sites in North Dakota. Against other North Dakota sites it stands out most in summer (100th percentile) and lowest in spring (below the 1st). Biggest nearby bee crops: canola (right here, grown 3 of the last 5 years); soybeans (right here, grown 1 of the last 5 years); peas (nearest 0.6 mi W, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: pond, lake or river, 0.16 mi W. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 100th percentile (spring 1st, summer 100th, fall 89th)
  • North Dakota: 100th percentile (spring 0th, summer 100th, fall 16th)
  • Northern Glaciated Plains: 100th percentile (spring 0th, summer 100th, fall 37th)

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

Season

  • First forage: Jun 16 — Canola
  • Main flow: Jul 1 to Aug 15 — Canola
  • Season ends: Sep 15

Bee crops nearby

  • Canola: about 5,135 acres in a typical year, nearest 0 mi , blooms late Jun – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 374 acres in a typical year, nearest 0 mi , blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Canola: about 2,987 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.8 mi N, blooms late Jun – early Aug
  • Canola: about 340 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.5 mi E, blooms late Jun – early Aug
  • Canola: about 277 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.5 mi SE, blooms late Jun – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 282 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.2 mi S, blooms early Jul – early Sep

What the honey would be made of

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

Things to watch

  • Lots of crops with little or no bee value. About 35% 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.