{"href":"http://player.captivate.fm/services/oembed?url=http%3A%2F%2Fplayer.captivate.fm%2Fepisode%2Fcae79e76-21c1-40fb-8ab5-5539467e5f01","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Captivate.FM","provider_url":"https://www.captivate.fm","width":600,"height":200,"type":"rich","html":"","title":"S2E22: Kyle Barnett - Ponic Jobs, Podcasting & Paying It Forward","description":"Episode Summary\r\n\r\nJoin Harry Duran, host of Vertical Farming Podcast, as he welcomes to the show founder of Ponic Jobs and co-host of the CropTalk Podcast, Kyle Barnett. Kyle is currently serving as Account Manager in the horticulture division at WestRock, focusing on helping growers create superior packaging, labels and merchandising solutions. In this episode, Harry and Kyle discuss the varying facets of ponics, from deep water culture and NFTs to vertical farming and aquaponics. They talk about the vital role distribution plays in the AgTech industry, what inspired Kyle to create the Ponic Jobs website, as well as his collaboration with CropTalk Media. His podcast segment, Kyle Talks AgTech, focuses on CEA, vertical farms, greenhouse technology as well as industry leaders.\r\n\r\nEpisode Sponsor\r\n\r\nCeres Greenhouse Solutions\r\n\r\nKey Takeaways\r\n03:22 \u2013 Harry welcomes to the show Kyle Barnett, who shares his personal journey to AgTech\r\n12:14 \u2013 How Kyle\u2019s love of cooking inspired him to pursue a career in agriculture and the importance Kyle places on pivoting\r\n20:42 \u2013 The work Kyle did with the Farm Tech Society and the inspiration to create the site, Ponic Jobs\r\n29:22 \u2013 Educating future generations on AgTech and how Kyle got involved in the CropTalk Podcast \r\n38:30 \u2013 How Kyle has grown as a podcast host and what excites him the most about the potential and the future of AgTech\r\n45:30 \u2013 Kyle speaks to the work he is doing at WestRock\r\n52:37 \u2013 A little known fact about Kyle that most people don\u2019t know\r\n54:51 \u2013 Harry thanks Kyle for joining the show and let\u2019s listeners know where they can connect with him\r\n\r\nTweetable Quotes\r\n\r\n\u201cMy segment [on the CropTalk Podcast] was \u2018Kyle Talks AgTech.\u2019 And it\u2019s been great. I\u2019ve had over thirty-five episodes now and it\u2019s really given me a lot of clarity into what the industry needs. As I said in the beginning, it\u2019s been an eclectic journey but I\u2019ve been so grateful.\u201d(10:41)\r\n\r\n\u201cA common theme I\u2019ve seen is the idea that \u2018if you grow it, they will come\u2019 is not a reality, unfortunately. You need to sell your food and then grow it. So, if I had one piece of advice for anyone looking to get into this is know your market and know where your food\u2019s going, because we\u2019re working with a perishable.\u201d(15:23)) \r\n\r\n\u201cI saw some of the most amazing ingenuity by a lot of these growers. And I saw people prosper that you might not expect because they pivoted.\u201d(17:57)\r\n\r\n\u201cI like aquaponics. I fell in love with it because of the idea of it and the closed loop, but it\u2019s a tough one.\u201d(26:51)\r\n\r\n\u201cWhen working with anyone in sales I think it\u2019s really about trust and fostering a relationship. And if you can develop a friendship out of it, more power to ya.\u201d(33:45)\r\n\r\n\u201cIf I was gonna give any advice to someone starting a podcast it would be to remember who your podcast is about. It\u2019s not about you, it\u2019s about your guest and shedding the spotlight on that guest.\u201d(38:59)\r\n\r\nLinks Mentioned\r\n\r\nPonic Jobs Website\r\n\r\nKyle\u2019s Podcast\r\n\r\nKyle\u2019s LinkedIn\r\n\r\nFarm Tech Society\r\n\r\nCropWalk Website\r\n\r\n\ud83c\udf99\ufe0f\ud83c\udf99\ufe0f\ud83c\udf99\ufe0f\r\n\r\nPodcast Production and Marketing by FullCast: https://bit.ly/3sxZ34y\r\n\r\nSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_height":300,"thumbnail_url":"https://artwork.captivate.fm/787a06ec-0d06-4984-927f-5ae362b94bf0/image.jpg"}