Honey bee forage in Crane, Montana

When is the honey flow in Crane?

• First forage: Mar 1 (early trees (maple, willow, poplar))
• Main flow: Apr 16 to Sep 15, peaking early Jul (alfalfa, early trees (maple, willow, poplar), roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard))
• Season ends: Oct 31

Forage available to a colony through the year at the center of Crane, 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 16.

What the honey is made of

• Spring honey (March to June): early trees (maple, willow, poplar), roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), alfalfa, summer-flowering shrubs; light amber, mixed: part of it sets quickly, part stays liquid
• Summer honey (July and August): alfalfa, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), soybeans, summer-flowering shrubs; white, likely to set within weeks to a few months
• Fall honey (September to November): alfalfa, fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard); extra light amber, likely to set within weeks to a few months
• Whole season (March to November): alfalfa, early trees (maple, willow, poplar), roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster); extra light amber, likely to set within weeks to a few months

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

Bee crops within flight range

• Alfalfa: about 187 acres in a typical year, nearest 0 mi W, blooms late Jun – early Sep (grown 5 of the last 5 years)
• Soybeans: about 50 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.1 mi N, blooms early Jul – early Sep (grown 2 of the last 5 years)
• Canola: about 63 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.7 mi NW, blooms early Jun – late Jul (grown 1 of the last 5 years)
• Corn: about 14 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.1 mi SE, blooms late Jul – late Sep (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 Crane

Mostly: Northwestern Great Plains Mixedgrass Prairie; Northwestern Great Plains Floodplain Forest and Woodland; Northwestern Great Plains Floodplain Herbaceous.

Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow 0 mi S; mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer) 0.02 mi S.

How Crane ranks

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

About 51% 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

Savage 10 mi · Sidney 10 mi · Fox Lake 20 mi · Fairview 21 mi · Bloomfield 34 mi · Richey 39 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 Crane (47.5794, -104.2387); 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.