Honey bee forage in Sand Coulee, Montana

When is the honey flow in Sand Coulee?

• First forage: Apr 1 (roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), dandelion, native wildflowers)
• Main flow: May 1 to Aug 31, peaking early Jul (alfalfa, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), peas)
• Season ends: Oct 31

Forage available to a colony through the year at the center of Sand Coulee, 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): roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), peas, dandelion, native wildflowers; extra light amber, likely to set over some months
• Summer honey (July and August): alfalfa, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), clovers: white, alsike and red; 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), clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion; light amber, likely to set over some months
• Whole season (March to November): roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), alfalfa, fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), peas; 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

• Peas: about 136 acres in a typical year, nearest 1 mi E, blooms late May – early Jul (grown 1 of the last 5 years)
• Canola: about 20 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.1 mi NW, blooms early May – late Jul (grown 1 of the last 5 years)
• Alfalfa: about 40 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.4 mi E, blooms early Jul – late Aug (grown 5 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 Sand Coulee

Mostly: Northwestern Great Plains Mixedgrass Prairie; Winter Wheat; Northwestern Great Plains Shrubland.

Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow 0.21 mi SE; mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer) 0.25 mi SE.

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 Sand Coulee ranks

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

About 42% 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

Tracy 1 mi · Big Stone Colony 2 mi · Centerville 2 mi · Stockett 3 mi · Gibson Flats 5 mi · Malmstrom AFB 7 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 Sand Coulee (47.4024, -111.1726); 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.