College of Agriculture & Natural Resources Department of Agricultural, Food, and Resource Economics

More than a decade ago, Andrew Schultz made the decision to leave corporate America behind and return to his roots in agriculture back in Michigan. Today, Schultz and his family still own and operate the original farm, Schultz Ridge Farms, but have also expanded their agricultural business into a restaurant and brewery, and a winery with a tasting room.

Schultz graduated from Michigan State University (MSU) with a degree in Agribusiness Management (ABM) from the Department of Agricultural, Food, and Resource Economics (AFRE) in 2011. He also received a minor in Food Industry Management.

“I chose agribusiness management because it was back to my roots,” Schultz shared. “It was something that I grew up with. I grew up on a farm and I know I wanted to go into business and so I thought it was really tailored to what I wanted to do. So when I transferred into the program, it was something that I knew I was familiar with but also had a lot of potential for a career.”

During his time in AFRE, Schultz was involved in extracurriculars but also appreciated the impact of the faculty he interacted with.

“My experience as a student was wonderful. I was around a lot of like-minded students, so a lot of the kids grew up on farms or in rural environments,” Schultz shared. “A lot of them had passion for food or agriculture. The faculty was super supportive. I would say that they were always very career minded, so that was always the clear goal by going into that program. Everything from the classwork to the extracurriculars. I was involved in several organizations and clubs when I was in college helped me grow professionally. I always felt like that was the focus. It was very career, career-driven in a positive way.”

Schultz continued speaking to the impact of AFRE on his current career.

“I think the value in the AFRE programs is that you have real world application. A lot of the material that I learned in class has direct application to what I do every day,” Schultz shared. “In my job, I'm a small business owner and I'm an entrepreneur; so, I touch a lot of aspects of the business. And I felt like the ABM program really also touched a lot of aspects of the business. Whether it was HR or legal or supply chain, I feel like I got great exposure to all of those things in the program and I use them in real world application today. I've seen a lot of my fellow classmates also be very successful in their careers and they've gone through a diverse range of jobs from retail to supply chain to marketing.”

Returning to his roots after graduation and working for a company has been rewarding. The original operation was Schultz Ridge Farms was started by his grandparents in 1951, and they grow apples, grapes, cherries, peaches, sweet corn, some pumpkins. In the mid 2010’s they expanded their businesses by staring a restaurant, brewery, and later purchasing a winery and tasing room.

Their brewery, Texas Corners Brewing Company is a a restaurant that also serves eight beers that they brew along with hard cider that they make as well. There are also some seasonal and fruit beers they produce from time to time. The winery, Lawton Ridge Winery, offers 24 wines in their portfolio including traditional wines, semi-dry and semi-sweet whites and reds, as well as some fruit wines.

One of his greatest joys is working with his wife.

“Without my wife, I couldn’t do any of this,” Schultz shares. “I met her through the business and now we work together, which is great. We work hand in hand in the business. And depending on the day, one of us might work at the brewery or the winery or vice versa. We get to see each other a lot, but that's not necessarily quality time together. So, we definitely make sure that we're making quality time for each other outside of work, making sure that all of our conversations don't revolve around work.

Schultz has still remained involved with AFRE as an alumni. He has be back to campus several times to participate on panels or guest lectures; additionally, he has also met with some of the student groups to share his personal experience. He encourages other alumni to consider being involved if they have not yet done so.

“I think there's value in alumni staying involved with the college,” he shared. “I think it's a way to give back. I think it's a way of fulfilling yourself and some of your needs in that regard. But I also think it's a way to network and you'll never know the connections that you make. And sometimes it's a fun connection, like at a tailgate. Sometimes it's maybe you found a future intern, maybe you found somebody who's going to work for your company and fill a need, whether it's a student or another alumni.”

To learn more about Schult, his family, and their businesses, watch the video here.