Honey bee forage in Gilman, Montana

When is the honey flow in Gilman?

• First forage: Mar 16 (early trees (maple, willow, poplar), roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard))
• Main flow: Apr 16 to Aug 31, peaking late May (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 Gilman, 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 21.

What the honey is made of

• Spring honey (March to June): early trees (maple, willow, poplar), roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), canola, native wildflowers; light amber, mixed: part of it sets quickly, part stays liquid
• Summer honey (July and August): alfalfa, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), summer-flowering shrubs; white, likely to set within weeks to a few months
• Fall honey (September to November): fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), alfalfa, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), spotted and diffuse knapweed; light amber, mixed: part of it sets quickly, part stays liquid
• 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 580 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.9 mi SW, blooms early Jul – early Sep (grown 5 of the last 5 years)
• Canola: about 15 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.4 mi SE, blooms early May – late Jul (grown 1 of the last 5 years)
• Peas: about 57 acres in a typical year, nearest 1 mi SE, blooms late May – early Jul (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 Gilman

Mostly: Northwestern Great Plains Mixedgrass Prairie; Inter-Mountain Basins Mat Saltbush Shrubland; Northern Rocky Mountain Lower Montane-Foothill-Valley Grassland.

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 Gilman ranks

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

About 60% 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

Augusta 2 mi · Milford Colony 14 mi · Simms 19 mi · Fairfield 19 mi · Choteau 23 mi · Fort Shaw 25 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 Gilman (47.5093, -112.3578); 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.