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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 48.9528, -99.3828

Estimated forage here is better than about 86% of sites in North Dakota. Against other North Dakota sites it stands out most in summer (85th percentile) and lowest in spring (30th). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 0.1 mi SW, grown 2 of the last 5 years); canola (nearest 0.2 mi S, grown 2 of the last 5 years); sunflower (nearest 1.4 mi NE, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow, 0.24 mi E.

Ranking

  • Continental US: 99th percentile (spring 13th, summer 99th, fall 99th)
  • North Dakota: 86th percentile (spring 30th, summer 85th, fall 82nd)
  • Northern Glaciated Plains: 87th percentile (spring 28th, summer 86th, fall 83rd)

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

Season

  • First forage: May 16 — Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard)
  • Main flow: Jul 1 to Aug 15 — Canola, Soybeans
  • Fall flow: Sep 1 to Sep 15 — Soybeans
  • Season ends: Sep 15

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 6,100 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.1 mi SW, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Canola: about 323 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.2 mi S, blooms late Jun – early Aug
  • Canola: about 168 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi W, blooms late Jun – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 1,412 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi SE, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 221 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi E, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Canola: about 64 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi N, blooms late Jun – early Aug

What the honey would be made of

  • Spring honey (March to June): Canola, Dandelion, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Clovers: white, alsike and red; extra light amber
  • 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), Clovers: white, alsike and red; light amber
  • Whole season (March to November): Soybeans, Canola, Dandelion, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard); 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.