Honey bee forage in Tracy, Montana

When is the honey flow in Tracy?

• First forage: Apr 1 (roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), dandelion, native wildflowers)
• Main flow: May 16 to Aug 15, peaking late Jun (peas, alfalfa, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard))
• Season ends: Oct 31

Forage available to a colony through the year at the center of Tracy, 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): peas, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), 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), lentils; 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; amber, likely to set over some months
• Whole season (March to November): peas, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), alfalfa, fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster); 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 0.3 mi S, blooms late May – early Jul (grown 1 of the last 5 years)
• Lentils: about 80 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi N, blooms late Jun – late Jul (grown 1 of the last 5 years)
• Canola: about 78 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.8 mi E, blooms early May – late Jul (grown 1 of the last 5 years)
• Alfalfa: about 19 acres in a typical year, nearest 0 mi NE, blooms early Jul – late Aug (grown 3 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 Tracy

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

Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow 0 mi S; mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer) 0.06 mi E.

Things to watch

• Lots of crops with little or no bee value. About 44% of the land within 3 miles is in crops bees get little from (such as wheat and other grains).

How Tracy ranks

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

About 40% 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

Sand Coulee 1 mi · Centerville 2 mi · Big Stone Colony 3 mi · Stockett 4 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 Tracy (47.4132, -111.1511); 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.