Honey bee forage in Crow Agency, Montana

When is the honey flow in Crow Agency?

• First forage: Mar 1 (early trees (maple, willow, poplar), dandelion, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard))
• Main flow: Apr 1 to Aug 15, peaking early May (roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion)
• Season ends: Oct 31

Forage available to a colony through the year at the center of Crow Agency, 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 10.

What the honey is made of

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

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

Bee crops within flight range

• Canola: about 291 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.2 mi NW, blooms early Jun – late Jul (grown 1 of the last 5 years)
• Alfalfa: about 290 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi N, blooms late Jun – late Aug (grown 3 of the last 5 years)
• Safflower: about 139 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.9 mi SW, blooms late Jul – late Aug (grown 1 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 Crow Agency

Mostly: Northwestern Great Plains Mixedgrass Prairie; Inter-Mountain Basins Big Sagebrush Steppe; Northern & Central Plains Ruderal & Planted Grassland.

Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow 0.16 mi SE; mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer) 0.17 mi E.

How Crow Agency ranks

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

About 54% 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

Hardin 12 mi · St. Xavier 16 mi · Lodge Grass 20 mi · Forty Mile Colony 23 mi · Busby 24 mi · Fort Smith 30 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 Crow Agency (45.6027, -107.4592); 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.