About Us
In 1969, Ron and Phyllis Bodtke moved their four young children from the suburbs of Detroit to the small town of Grand Junction. Their adventure in blueberry farming began on 40 acres of land, including 12 acres of blueberries. They immediately joined the local blueberry co-op, MBG Marketing, which the family is still members of to this day.
The farm almost continually acquired additional blueberry holdings and expanded into row crops. Eventually Ron became partners with three of his children, Tom, Kay and Larry. This operating partnership, formed in 1985, became known as Cornerstone Ag Enterprises. In 1993, a land holding partnership was formed which included daughter, Pam, and all spouses.
In 2004, Cornerstone Ag and family friends Fritz’s Brookside Farms entered a partnership in the state of Oregon with Pan American Blueberry Growers which now also includes farms in eastern and western Washington, and organic blueberry production.
In 2006, the family also decided to venture outside of agriculture. Several area families joined together to build Beeches Golf Club on some farm property outside of South Haven. The Bodtke family became the sole owners of Beeches Golf Club and Grille, and in 2012, decided to build a banquet hall addition on the clubhouse.
Planning for the transition to future generations led to the formation of Cornerstone Ag Holdings, LLC in 2015, which oversees all of the Bodtke family business interests and provides a sustainable opportunity for family ownership. As of January 2018, three members of the third generation are full time employees of Cornerstone Ag.
Today, Cornerstone Ag owns nearly 600 acres of blueberries in Van Buren and Allegan counties, and farms 1200 acres of corn and soybeans.
August 2013 - The family gathered to celebrate Phyllis's birthday and had their picture taken under the namesake beech tree at the golf course.
