Eric Schlutz Recognized as Part of RLI’s APEX Producers Club

Eric Schlutz, with Ruhl Farm & Land from Muscatine, Iowa,  has been recognized as a part of the APEX 2025 Producers Club by the REALTORS® Land Institute as a part of the RLI APEX Production Awards Program, sponsored by The Land Report. Eric was recognized by RLI CEO Aubrie Kobernus as well as The Land Report’s Co-founders Eddie Lee Rider Jr. and Eric O’Keefe at a special awards ceremony on Monday, March 16, during RLI’s 2026 National Land Conference (NLC26) in San Antonio, TX. This year marked the 20th Anniversary of the National Land Conference.

“While I appreciate the honor, I’m just truly appreciative of all the clients who have entrusted me with their land transactions,” said Eric Schlutz, ALC, upon receiving the award. Schlutz has been active in land sales for the last 21 years in eastern Iowa and western Illinois.

“It’s an honor to recognize Eric and all those who earned a spot in the APEX Producers Club in 2025. Our APEX Award recipients are truly the most accomplished professionals with the highest levels of expertise in land real estate sales,” said RLI’s CEO, Aubrie Kobernus, MBA, RCE. Top award winners will receive national recognition in The Land Report’s Spring Magazine, RLI’s Spring issue of Terra Firma magazine, as well as additional promotions throughout the year. 

“Eric’s recognition by the REALTORS® Land Institute reflects the respect and reputation he has earned throughout the agricultural community and the land brokerage business,” said Chris Beason, President of Ruhl&Ruhl Realtors. “Land brokerage is a highly specialized field, and Eric has built his business through hard work, market knowledge,  professionalism, and the relationships he has built with his clients over the years. We’re proud to have him leading our Farm & Land division and proud to see him recognized among the top land professionals in the country.”

All land professionals recognized as part of the RLI APEX Producers Club are active members of RLI and have at least $5M of qualifying dollar volume in closed land sales in 2025. 

The APEX Awards Program celebrated its ninth year by welcoming 299 applicants totaling a combined $9.29+ billion in qualifying transaction volume, 11,292 transaction sides, and over 2.3 million acres sold. All land professionals recognized as part of the RLI APEX Awards Program are active members of RLI. 

For more information on the award winners, make sure to get a copy of The Land Report, one of the industry’s leading magazines for landowners and land professionals, which will be publicizing the top winners in their upcoming Spring 2026 issue. All land real estate professionals are invited to join RLI and apply to the prestigious APEX Awards Program next year. Applications will open in December 2026. Winners of the 2026 APEX Awards will be announced at RLI’s 2027 National Land Conference next March in Atlanta, GA. Next year will mark the 10th Anniversary of the APEX Awards Program. Learn more at rliland.com/apex.

About Ruhl&Ruhl Realtors

A family-owned company since 1862, Ruhl&Ruhl Realtors has grown to 274 sales associates, 59 employees, and 10 offices, selling nearly 4,200 homes in eastern Iowa, northwest Illinois, and southwest Wisconsin in 2025. The company has residential sales offices in Bettendorf, Burlington, Cedar Rapids, Clinton, Davenport, DeWitt, Dubuque, Iowa City, and Muscatine, Iowa; and in Moline, Illinois. For more information on Ruhl&Ruhl Realtors, visit their website at www.RuhlHomes.com.