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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 48.8811, -97.4720

Estimated forage here is better than about 27% of sites in North Dakota. Against other North Dakota sites it stands out most in fall (85th percentile) and lowest in summer (26th). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (right here, grown 3 of the last 5 years); dry beans (nearest 0.1 mi NW, grown 2 of the last 5 years); canola (nearest 1.2 mi N, grown 2 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), 0.22 mi W. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 75th percentile (spring 18th, summer 85th, fall 99th)
  • North Dakota: 27th percentile (spring 38th, summer 26th, fall 85th)
  • Lake Agassiz Plain: 7th percentile (spring 58th, summer 8th, fall 78th)

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 — Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red
  • Main flow: Jul 16 to Sep 15 — Soybeans, Dry Beans
  • Season ends: Sep 30

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 887 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi N, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 147 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi NE, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Dry beans: about 148 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi S, blooms late Jul – late Sep
  • Canola: about 76 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.2 mi N, blooms late Jun – early Aug
  • Dry beans: about 41 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.1 mi NW, blooms late Jul – late Sep
  • Soybeans: about 1,793 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.4 mi NE, 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, Dry Beans, Canola; water white
  • Fall honey (September to November): Dry Beans, Soybeans; water white
  • Whole season (March to November): Soybeans, Dry Beans, Dandelion, Canola; white

Things to watch

  • Lots of crops with little or no bee value. About 62% 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.