Honey bee forage in Brockway, Montana

When is the honey flow in Brockway?

• First forage: Apr 1 (roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), dandelion, native wildflowers)
• Main flow: May 16 to Jul 31, peaking late Jun (peas, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), lentils)
• Fall flow: Aug 16 to Sep 15 (roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), alfalfa)
• Season ends: Oct 31

Forage available to a colony through the year at the center of Brockway, from what grows within flight range (about 3.7 miles) and when it blooms here. Dates are the model's estimate for a typical year; the spring index for this spot falls on May 18.

What the honey is made of

• Spring honey (March to June): peas, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), dandelion, clovers: white, alsike and red; extra light amber, likely to set over some months
• Summer honey (July and August): lentils, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), alfalfa; extra light amber, likely to set over some months
• Fall honey (September to November): fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), alfalfa, clovers: white, alsike and red; light amber, likely to set over some months
• Whole season (March to November): roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), peas, lentils, fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster); extra light amber, likely to set over some months

Nectar-source estimate (plants weighted by how much bees favor them), not a pollen analysis. Full honey estimate.

Bee crops within flight range

• Peas: about 51 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi SE, blooms late May – early Jul (grown 2 of the last 5 years)
• Lentils: about 59 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi SE, blooms late Jun – late Jul (grown 2 of the last 5 years)

From USDA's crop maps for 2021–2025; fields rotate, so a crop counts by how often it was grown. Listing a field says nothing about its owner.

The land and water around Brockway

Mostly: Northwestern Great Plains Mixedgrass Prairie; Spring Wheat; Northern & Central Plains Ruderal & Planted Grassland.

Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow 0.08 mi NW; mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer) 0.25 mi W.

Things to watch

• Lots of crops with little or no bee value. About 39% of the land within 3 miles is in crops bees get little from (such as wheat and other grains).

How Brockway ranks

Percentiles among 3,000 random land points in each region, scored the same way: land in general, not beekeepers' apiaries.

About 40% of the land here is scored with national averages for its vegetation type rather than measured plant cover, so the wild-plant part of this estimate is rougher than the crop part.

Nearby

Circle 12 mi · Lindsay 29 mi · Vida 39 mi · Richey 40 mi · Bloomfield 40 mi · Terry 41 mi

All towns in Montana · National map · How the scoring works

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. The point is the Census Bureau's published center of Brockway (47.2992, -105.7644); a yard a mile or two away can differ, so check your own spot. The FEMA flood map was not checked for this page. Benchmark 2026.5, built 2026-10-19. How this works · All sources.