Honey bee forage in Jordan, Montana

When is the honey flow in Jordan?

• First forage: Apr 1 (dandelion, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard))
• Main flow: Apr 16 to Sep 15, peaking late May (roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion)
• Fall flow: Oct 1 to Oct 15 (fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster))
• Season ends: Oct 31

Forage available to a colony through the year at the center of Jordan, 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 17.

What the honey is made of

• Spring honey (March to June): dandelion, clovers: white, alsike and red, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), native wildflowers; light amber, mixed: part of it sets quickly, part stays liquid
• Summer honey (July and August): roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), alfalfa, clovers: white, alsike and red; light amber, likely to set over some months
• Fall honey (September to November): fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), spotted and diffuse knapweed, dandelion; amber, likely to set over some months
• Whole season (March to November): roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), dandelion, clovers: white, alsike and red; 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

• Safflower: about 37 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi NW, blooms late Jul – late Aug (grown 1 of the last 5 years)
• Alfalfa: about 12 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.4 mi E, blooms early Jul – late Aug (grown 3 of the last 5 years)
• Peas: about 5 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.1 mi NW, blooms late May – early Jul (grown 1 of the last 5 years)
• Lentils: about 241 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.1 mi W, 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 Jordan

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

Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer) 0.12 mi NW; pond, lake or river 0.19 mi N.

How Jordan ranks

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

About 53% 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

Fort Peck 52 mi · Brockway 54 mi · Nashua 62 mi · Glasgow 62 mi · Circle 62 mi · Frazer 64 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 Jordan (47.3211, -106.9099); 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.