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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 48.9564, -103.4804

Estimated forage here is better than about 89% of sites in North Dakota. Against other North Dakota sites it stands out most in summer (90th percentile) and lowest in fall (4th). Biggest nearby bee crops: canola (nearest 0.1 mi N, grown 1 of the last 5 years); sunflower (nearest 0.2 mi N, grown 1 of the last 5 years); soybeans (nearest 0.1 mi N, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), 0.26 mi E. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 99th percentile (spring 24th, summer 100th, fall 75th)
  • North Dakota: 89th percentile (spring 51st, summer 90th, fall 4th)
  • Northern Glaciated Plains: 90th percentile (spring 49th, summer 91st, fall 18th)

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, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard)
  • Main flow: Jun 16 to Jul 31 — Canola
  • Season ends: Sep 15

Bee crops nearby

  • Canola: about 369 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.4 mi W, blooms late Jun – early Aug
  • Canola: about 65 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.1 mi N, blooms late Jun – early Aug
  • Canola: about 104 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi W, blooms late Jun – early Aug
  • Canola: about 71 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi SE, blooms late Jun – early Aug
  • Canola: about 257 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi N, blooms late Jun – early Aug
  • Canola: about 436 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.1 mi SE, blooms late Jun – early Aug

What the honey would be made of

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

Things to watch

  • Lots of crops with little or no bee value. About 45% 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.