South Carolina Business Review

More SC ag entrepreneurs receive funding

By Mike Switzer

Published July 18, 2025 at 6:30 AM EDT

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Kyle Player, executive director of the Agribusiness Center for Research and Entrepreneurship (ACRE) in Columbia

Several years ago, our state’s Department of Agriculture created an entrepreneurship program known as ACRE, the Agribusiness Center for Research and Entrepreneurship. Since then, they have helped over a hundred entrepreneurs and just recently announced that another twelve will be sharing $200,000 in funding for their agribusiness ventures. Mike Switzer interviews Kyle Player, executive director, Agribusiness Center for Research and Entrepreneurship (ACRE) in Columbia.

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Mike Switzer

After almost 20 years, Mike Switzer retired from Wells Fargo Securities in 2001 as Senior Vice President/Investment Officer and Certified Portfolio Manager. In 1999, he and his wife, Maggie, purchased and operated for eight years the Baskin Robbins ice cream store on Forest Drive in Columbia. They grew the store from a bottom-tier operation in the Baskin Robbins franchise system to one in the top 5% nationwide within three years, tripling sales along the way. While operating the ice cream store, Mike and Maggie received patents for a portable ice cream sink and fold-down sneezeguard they invented and in 2002 started Magnolia Carts, an ice cream cart manufacturing company, which they sold in 2013.

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