Meet CropKing’s Nick Greens And Jake Emling
The two New Hires At CropKing Bring A Variety Of Experiences To the Lodi, Ohio-Based Operation.
September 18, 2018
CropKing, based in Lodi, Ohio, recently announced that it has expanded its team, with the addition of Nick Greens in the role of horticulturist/consultant, and Jake Emling in the role of horticulturist. The two new hires recently shared with Produce Grower their backgrounds and excitement about their new roles.
Nick Greens, horticulturist/consultant, based out of Lodi, Ohio
Horticulturist/consultant Nick Greens began his growing career in 2002 as an apprentice grower for a hydroponics shop. In 2007, Greens moved to Humboldt County, California, to work as an assistant grower for a collective of greenhouses, where he began experimenting with a vortex brewer to develop several recipes for compost teas.
In 2010, Greens moved back to Chicago to start growing produce for Blue Star Produce, where he perfected his compost tea recipes and became a pioneer in organic microgreens and leafy greens production. When he started growing microgreens in 2010, Greens used CropKing systems. He worked for and advised many Chicago indoor farms, including BrightFarms, Garfield Produce, Plant Chicago, Windy City Greens and Nick Greens Grow Team.
Greens has created many growing opportunities for youth in urban Chicago. He installed an indoor growing system at Kipp One Academy Charter School, and helped design and build the Food Science Lab at Schurz High School.
Having helped different microgreens operations get off the ground, Greens says he knows what it takes for small farming businesses to succeed. Now that he’s working at CropKing, Greens says he is excited to help customers solve their problems.
“Now that I’ve been at CropKing for a few months, I’ve really enjoyed the workshops,” Greens says. “Getting to meet potential growers and talk through their questions while also teaching about ways to provide heathy and sustainable food is one of the things I like best.”
Jake Emling, horticulturist, based out of Lodi, Ohio
Horticulturist Jake Emling developed a love of nature and the outdoors while growing up in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. He attended Michigan State University, where he received both a bachelors and masters of science in horticulture. While at Michigan State, Emling researched various fruit crops in intensive growing systems. He also has worked in the fertilizer industry as well as with greenhouses, grower education and entomology.
Emling has worked throughout the United States with numerous crops and growers, and he says he is excited to pull from those experiences to help CropKing customers. “It is always interesting to me how the different cultural practices are used to produce the same crop in different locations,” he says.
In his spare time, Emling works in his one-third-acre vineyard. Additionally, he has experience working with computer-aided design. “Over the last few years I have been able to use my knowledge of engineering principles and horticulture to help improve different designs and layouts of greenhouses. I have been building things and tinkering all my life, so applying this skill with my background in horticulture has allowed me to solve problems for growers.”
At the end of the day, Emling says he is drawn to controlled environment agriculture (CEA) because of the range of experiences it presents. “I like the flexibility of different tasks that are needed to successfully produce a crop,” he says. “Also, [I like] the wide range of plants that you can grow in CEA. You are only limited to how much time you want to spend taking care of the needs of those specific plants.”