Orchard, Cidery, and Green Energy Homestead in SW Minnesota
Minnesota
Blackshire Farms is host to a cidery, tasting room, multiple orchards, pumpkin patch, event hall and more! Nestled in the little town of Beaver Creek, our idyllic location boasts rolling hills, a pond, a historic one lane bridge, and a creek that meanders through the property.
A little about us: I studied horticulture at University and went on to become an organic squash farmer. After a couple other farm ventures and some moves including to California, I was given the opportunity to reclaim my family acreage as a full functioning farm. My partner Marcella is freelance writer and poet, working in college administration. Since 2016, we have been working towards the goal of owning and operating a cidery. In 2017 we planted our first orchard. In 2025 we opened our cidery! We press juice from trees in our orchards, and the orchards of our neighbors, producing traditional, craft hard cider.
But our farm is so much more! We have a large plot of my great grandmother's raspberries. Mulberry trees and elderberry bushes abound. We grow a pick your own pumpkin patch near The Cidery. In addition, we partner with an El Salvadorian family to grow their native beans.
We are food preservation and foraging experts. From canning to freezing, brining to smoking, we make some really amazing products! We pride ourselves on making the best pickles you've ever had and our smoked trout wins lunch every time. Our maple syrup is smoky from our open fire evaporation. Spring and summer provides us with wild asparagus and many species of mushrooms, while fall brings harvest of honey and pumpkins!
The sun is the ultimate energy source, so to respect that, we built a garage with a solar array that covers 85% of the farm needs.
Guests can stay in a room in our unique turn-of-the-century farm home with us, or camp in our beautiful maple grove. We are also just finishing a cabin to accommodate more privacy for future woofers.
Area activites include hiking, swimming and kyaking at one of many nearby state parks including Blue Mounds, Newton Hills, and Touch The Sky Prairie. There is a festival at nearby small towns seemingly every weekend. We have a new local brewery in the small town closest to our farm, and Sioux Falls -a city of nearly 200,000 people- is just 20 minutes away. Whether it is a change of pace, a change of scenery, or the opportunity to learn new skills you seek, we would love to host you.
Fiber optic internet access available.
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Learning opportunities
Vegetable farming
Fruit or nut farming
Forestry
Beekeeping
Wild foraging
Seed saving or production
Vegetable or fruit preservation
Beer, cider, wine, or juice making
Renewable energy production
Mechanics / tools / technology
Methods or systems
Holistic management
Host type
Production farm
30.4
Hectares
|
75
Acres
Accommodation
Sean
Member since 2017
Languages spoken:
English, Spanish
Sun
Mon
Tue
Wed
Thu
Fri
Sat
Response rate: 86%
Response time: typically within 2 days
Minnesota
Sioux Falls SD
Reviews
Lalenya
United States
•
May 2026
I gained a massive amount of knowledge during my stay with Sean & Marcella’s WWOOF farm. Not just about the inner workings of their farm life, but also about the surrounding farms and community as a whole. Sean was incredibly informative, answered all my questions, and always made time to teach even while we were constantly on the move, pivoting, and dealing with the normal day to day unpredictability that comes with farm life. He handled it all beautifully.
I even learned how to hunt for and harvest fresh asparagus, and we ate it for dinner the very first night.
Marcella was also extremely knowledgeable, welcoming, and hardworking. Honestly, I am still processing everything I learned in such a short period of time.
Their farm was welcoming, honest, hardworking, and full of knowledge. It was truly an amazing stay. I highly recommend them and would absolutely return again.
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Quinn
United States
•
March 2026
Hi,
I had the opportunity to WWOOF at this farm this past March, and it was a great experience! This was my first time WWOOFing, and I felt so welcome by Sean and his family. The accommodations were generous and I honestly felt like I was just at home. My tasks were pretty varied, but (as clearly stated by Sean before) I was WWOOFing a bit early so everything was weather dependent and a little bit ‘before season’. I was able to help out on the Cidery, cabin, and even spent a little bit of time in the orchard as well, among other tasks. Again, this was a great experience, and I would totally recommend staying here!
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Katie
United States
•
November 2025
This was my first WWOOF experience, and it was a great introduction. I was encouraged to jump in and try new tasks with clear guidance. During my stay, I learned how to press apples, lay flooring, and mow using a riding mower. I also gained a good understanding of how the farm and its operations worked. I felt supported and trusted throughout my stay, and the hands-on experience was very rewarding. I’m excited for future WWOOF opportunities and would gladly return in another season to learn even more.
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Hannah
United States
•
September 2025
we wwoofed at sean's for 10 days and had a great time! some days were more chaotic than others, overall we learned some cool stuff and enjoyed hanging out with sean and his kind family and the other longterm wwoofer who was there. there is a wwoofer cabin being built right now that will be amazing for future wwoofers to stay at! we are grateful to sean and marcella for hosting us and wish them the best!!
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Alasdair
United Kingdom
•
May 2025
Sean and the family are awesome and very much wanted to ensure I felt at home and at ease.
This farm is an interesting place! Sean has lots of cool projects on the go including his cider apple orchard and his new Cidery, all nestled within a very soy-corn-soy-corn farming area in the midwest. This makes for a unique atmosphere and experience.
I really enjoyed learning about the history of the area from Sean and hanging out with the family. Sean is happy to be flexible to the individual needs and wishes of each wwoofer. I was working for 3-4 hours a day mostly (but you could do more if you wished). Lots of opportunity to learn about horticulture from Sean for those that are interested (he is super knowledgeable an keen to share). Some beautiful state parks nearby are worth a visit.
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Morgan
United States
•
March 2025
Whether you're a first-time Wwoofer or a seasoned volunteer, this is a fantastic place to visit! Sean and his family are easygoing, welcoming, and the kind of people that can make anyone feel included. The orchard is a great place to work as you will gain experience in the apple-growing process. As a Woofer, I was able to help Sean with any task he needed, including pruning trees, organizing/cleaning farm materials, or helping out at the cidery. I visited during spring break and feel certain that was the best decision I could have made with my time off. I would recommend this farm to anyone looking to work through Wwoof!
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