The Urban Farmer Podcast
Diego Footer · The Modern Grower Podcast Network
Show overview
The Urban Farmer Podcast launched in 2025 and has put out 72 episodes in the time since. That works out to roughly 40 hours of audio in total. Releases follow a weekly cadence.
Episodes typically run thirty-five to sixty minutes — most land between 13 min and 50 min — with run-times ranging widely across the catalogue. None of the episodes are flagged explicit by the publisher. It is catalogued as a EN-language Business show.
The show is actively publishing — the most recent episode landed yesterday, with 9 episodes already out so far this year. The busiest year was 2025, with 63 episodes published. Published by The Modern Grower Podcast Network.
From the publisher
Re-released for its 10th anniversary. The Urban Farmer is a documentary-style podcast that takes you behind the scenes of a real urban farming business to show you what it truly takes to run a successful farm in the city. Follow farmer Curtis Stone's journey over an entire growing season as he produces food on just a third of an acre in Kelowna, BC, Canada. The show was initially recorded in 2015. This series, hosted by Diego Footer, explores the daily struggles and successes of urban farming. Curtis shares his hard-earned knowledge of intensive production methods, season extension, optimal crop selection, farm planning, and financial management. But this podcast goes beyond the nuts and bolts of growing—it gives an honest look at the entrepreneurial, social, and lifestyle aspects of urban farming. Whether you are a new grower dreaming of starting your own urban farm or a seasoned producer looking to refine your systems, The Urban Farmer will inform and inspire you. Follow along as Curtis demonstrates how to produce an abundance of food in the most unlikely places and build a viable business supporting a high quality of life. If you've ever wanted to see how profitable and rewarding small-scale farming can be, this podcast is for you.
Latest Episodes
View all 72 episodesThe 80/20 Crop Audit: One Spreadsheet That Changes Your Whole Farm
The 80/20 Crop Audit: One Spreadsheet That Changes Your Whole Farm
What Can You Do That Someone Will Pay You For?
How Some Farmers Harvest 50 Weeks a Year
7 Records Every Market Farmer Should Track
The $50/hr Crop vs. The $250/hr Crop
You harvest lettuce for an hour. $300 in revenue. Great, right? But you also spent 30 minutes planting, an hour weeding, an hour washing and packing. That's 3.5 hours total — $86 per hour, not $300. Click here to watch the full episode on our YouTube Channel. Subscribe for more content on sustainable farming, market farming tips, and business insights! Get market farming tools, seeds, and supplies at Modern Grower. Follow Modern Grower: Instagram Instagram Listen to other podcasts on the Modern Grower Podcast Network: Carrot Cashflow Farm Small Farm Smart Farm Small Farm Smart Daily The Growing Microgreens Podcast The Urban Farmer Podcast The Rookie Farmer Podcast In Search of Soil Podcast Check out Diego's books: Sell Everything You Grow on Amazon Ready Farmer One on Amazon **** Modern Grower and Diego Footer participate in the Amazon Services LLC. Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.
How to Never Overproduce (or Underproduce) a Crop Again (S1W28)
In this episode, find out the one habit that separates profitable urban farmers from those who struggle: meticulous record keeping. Curtis walks us through how tracking shortages, sales trends, and planting dates has made this his best shoulder season yet, with virtually zero wasted production. Watch the video version over on our YouTube Channel! Subscribe for more content on sustainable farming, market farming tips, and business insights! Get market farming tools, seeds, and supplies at Modern Grower. Follow Modern Grower: Instagram Instagram Listen to other podcasts on the Modern Grower Podcast Network: Carrot Cashflow Farm Small Farm Smart Farm Small Farm Smart Daily The Growing Microgreens Podcast The Urban Farmer Podcast The Rookie Farmer Podcast In Search of Soil Podcast Check out Diego's books: Sell Everything You Grow on Amazon Ready Farmer One on Amazon **** Modern Grower and Diego Footer participate in the Amazon Services LLC. Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.
7 Numbers That Separate $80K Farms from $20K Farms (Rewind S1W27 - 2)
In this episode, Diego breaks down the seven metrics that separate $80K farms from $20K farms on the same amount of land: revenue per square foot, cost per unit produced, harvest ratio, labor hours per $1,000 in revenue, customer acquisition cost, cash flow gap, and gross profit margin by channel. Click here to watch the video version over on our YouTube Channel! Subscribe for more content on sustainable farming, market farming tips, and business insights! Get market farming tools, seeds, and supplies at Modern Grower. Follow Modern Grower: Instagram Instagram Listen to other podcasts on the Modern Grower Podcast Network: Carrot Cashflow Farm Small Farm Smart Farm Small Farm Smart Daily The Growing Microgreens Podcast The Urban Farmer Podcast The Rookie Farmer Podcast In Search of Soil Podcast Check out Diego's books: Sell Everything You Grow on Amazon Ready Farmer One on Amazon **** Modern Grower and Diego Footer participate in the Amazon Services LLC. Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.
The REAL Cost to Start an Urban Farm (Rewind S1W27 - 1)
How much money do you ACTUALLY need to start a profitable urban farm? One farmer turned $7,000 into a six-figure operation on a third of an acre. In this Urban Farmer Rewind episode, Diego breaks down the five real expense categories every new farmer needs to budget for: including the hidden costs that nobody talks about. Subscribe for more content on sustainable farming, market farming tips, and business insights! Get market farming tools, seeds, and supplies at Modern Grower. Follow Modern Grower: Instagram Instagram Listen to other podcasts on the Modern Grower Podcast Network: Carrot Cashflow Farm Small Farm Smart Farm Small Farm Smart Daily The Growing Microgreens Podcast The Urban Farmer Podcast The Rookie Farmer Podcast In Search of Soil Podcast Check out Diego's books: Sell Everything You Grow on Amazon Ready Farmer One on Amazon **** Modern Grower and Diego Footer participate in the Amazon Services LLC. Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.
Stop Waiting for Perfect: Start Your Farm With $5,000 (S1W27)
This episode pulls no punches about starting a new farm: the sacrifices, struggles, and tough decisions that separate dreamers from doers. Curtis Stone and Diego Footer discuss why successful farmers like Jean-Martin Fortier started in tents and teepees, how to prepare for worst-case scenarios, and the one question that will either motivate or haunt you for decades: "Why didn't you just go for it?" Subscribe for more content on sustainable farming, market farming tips, and business insights! Get market farming tools, seeds, and supplies at Modern Grower. Follow Modern Grower: Instagram Instagram Listen to other podcasts on the Modern Grower Podcast Network: Carrot Cashflow Farm Small Farm Smart Farm Small Farm Smart Daily The Growing Microgreens Podcast The Urban Farmer Podcast The Rookie Farmer Podcast In Search of Soil Podcast Check out Diego's books: Sell Everything You Grow on Amazon Ready Farmer One on Amazon **** Modern Grower and Diego Footer participate in the Amazon Services LLC. Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.
Why Working to Learn Beats Working to Earn in Your First Farm Year (Rewind S1W26 - 2)
Why do the most successful farmers barely break even in year one? How could chasing profits too early destroy your farm business? In this episode, we're answering all that and more as we dive into the counterintuitive strategy that transforms struggling growers into profitable operations by year three, including actionable exercises to track what really matters: your cost per square foot, true profit margins, and which crops are secretly draining your time and money. Diego breaks down the exact approach that helped Curtis Stone build a thriving urban farm, including a 90-day learning sprint that will teach you more about your farm's economics than most farmers learn in years. Subscribe for more content on sustainable farming, market farming tips, and business insights! Get market farming tools, seeds, and supplies at Modern Grower. Follow Modern Grower: Instagram Instagram Listen to other podcasts on the Modern Grower Podcast Network: Carrot Cashflow Farm Small Farm Smart Farm Small Farm Smart Daily The Growing Microgreens Podcast The Urban Farmer Podcast The Rookie Farmer Podcast In Search of Soil Podcast Check out Diego's books: Sell Everything You Grow on Amazon Ready Farmer One on Amazon **** Modern Grower and Diego Footer participate in the Amazon Services LLC. Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.
The Hidden Trap of Starting Too Big: Why 5,000 Square Feet Beats 2 Acres (Rewind S1W26 - 1)
In this episode, Diego schools us in on the four critical principles that separate successful farms from the 90% that fail within three years. We dive deep into all the reasons why starting small (just 5,000 square feet) gives you the validation, data, and sustainability you need before scaling up. Siego also breaks down how to track unit economics, understand your true capacity, and avoid the complexity cascade that destroys farm businesses. Subscribe for more content on sustainable farming, market farming tips, and business insights! Get market farming tools, seeds, and supplies at Modern Grower. Follow Modern Grower: Instagram Instagram Listen to other podcasts on the Modern Grower Podcast Network: Carrot Cashflow Farm Small Farm Smart Farm Small Farm Smart Daily The Growing Microgreens Podcast The Urban Farmer Podcast The Rookie Farmer Podcast In Search of Soil Podcast Check out Diego's books: Sell Everything You Grow on Amazon Ready Farmer One on Amazon **** Modern Grower and Diego Footer participate in the Amazon Services LLC. Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.
Work to Learn, Not Earn: Building a Sustainable Farm (S1W26)
Thinking about starting a farm? In this episode, Curtis and Diego talk about why most new farmers fail and the counter-intuitive strategy that leads to long-term success. They double down on the value of working for knowledge instead of profits in your first year, starting with less land, and how building systematically will set you up for a thriving farm business. Curtis shares his hard-earned lessons on how to avoid the burnout, overwhelm, and financial struggle that sink most beginning farmers. Subscribe for more content on sustainable farming, market farming tips, and business insights! Get market farming tools, seeds, and supplies at Modern Grower. Follow Modern Grower: Instagram Instagram Listen to other podcasts on the Modern Grower Podcast Network: Carrot Cashflow Farm Small Farm Smart Farm Small Farm Smart Daily The Growing Microgreens Podcast The Urban Farmer Podcast The Rookie Farmer Podcast In Search of Soil Podcast Check out Diego's books: Sell Everything You Grow on Amazon Ready Farmer One on Amazon **** Modern Grower and Diego Footer participate in the Amazon Services LLC. Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.
The 10-Day Pivot: Why Fast Feedback Loops Save Businesses (Rewind S1W25 - 2)
In this episode, we take a look at how farmer Curtis Stone survived a 75% revenue drop by using 10-day feedback cycles to pivot before losses mounted. We'll talk about ways to detect failures fast, test cheaply, and adapt quickly to rapidly changing markets. Subscribe for more content on sustainable farming, market farming tips, and business insights! Get market farming tools, seeds, and supplies at Modern Grower. Follow Modern Grower: Instagram Instagram Listen to other podcasts on the Modern Grower Podcast Network: Carrot Cashflow Farm Small Farm Smart Farm Small Farm Smart Daily The Growing Microgreens Podcast The Urban Farmer Podcast The Rookie Farmer Podcast In Search of Soil Podcast Check out Diego's books: Sell Everything You Grow on Amazon Ready Farmer One on Amazon **** Modern Grower and Diego Footer participate in the Amazon Services LLC. Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.
Why Most Small Businesses Burn Out by September (Rewind S1W25 - 1)
In this rewind episode, we're taking a look at how farmer Curtis Stone achieved a 35% revenue increase while taking daily naps during peak season: by completely restructuring his workflow. We're breaking down how to stage work across optimal time windows, avoid burnout, and build systems that work with natural rhythms instead of against them—helping you scale sustainably without sacrificing your health or sanity. Subscribe for more content on sustainable farming, market farming tips, and business insights! Get market farming tools, seeds, and supplies at Modern Grower. Follow Modern Grower: Instagram Instagram Listen to other podcasts on the Modern Grower Podcast Network: Carrot Cashflow Farm Small Farm Smart Farm Small Farm Smart Daily The Growing Microgreens Podcast The Urban Farmer Podcast The Rookie Farmer Podcast In Search of Soil Podcast Check out Diego's books: Sell Everything You Grow on Amazon Ready Farmer One on Amazon **** Modern Grower and Diego Footer participate in the Amazon Services LLC. Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.
The Biggest Winter Vegetable Growing Mistakes to Avoid (S1W25)
The Urban Farmer Curtis Stone shares some practical strategies that helped increase his farm revenue by 35% without adding more land or working longer hours. He'll talk about exact planting dates for fall crops, heat management techniques that protect both you and your employees, and why strategic napping might be your secret weapon against burnout. Subscribe for more content on sustainable farming, market farming tips, and business insights! Get market farming tools, seeds, and supplies at Modern Grower. Follow Modern Grower: Instagram Instagram Listen to other podcasts on the Modern Grower Podcast Network: Carrot Cashflow Farm Small Farm Smart Farm Small Farm Smart Daily The Growing Microgreens Podcast The Urban Farmer Podcast The Rookie Farmer Podcast In Search of Soil Podcast Check out Diego's books: Sell Everything You Grow on Amazon Ready Farmer One on Amazon **** Modern Grower and Diego Footer participate in the Amazon Services LLC. Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.
Automation and The Real Cost of Manual Systems (Rewind S1W24 - 3)
In this rewind episode, we're breaking down why automating simple tasks like invoicing doesn't just save you 10+ hours per season...it also unlocks your farm's growth. We're looking at automation strategies you can implement this week—from digital invoicing to voice-to-text workflows—that will free you from repetitive manual work and give you more time to focus on sales, strategy, and scaling your business. Subscribe for more content on sustainable farming, market farming tips, and business insights! Get market farming tools, seeds, and supplies at Modern Grower. Follow Modern Grower: Instagram Instagram Listen to other podcasts on the Modern Grower Podcast Network: Carrot Cashflow Farm Small Farm Smart Farm Small Farm Smart Daily The Growing Microgreens Podcast The Urban Farmer Podcast The Rookie Farmer Podcast In Search of Soil Podcast Check out Diego's books: Sell Everything You Grow on Amazon Ready Farmer One on Amazon **** Modern Grower and Diego Footer participate in the Amazon Services LLC. Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.
The Fresh Sheet System That Increased Farm Sales by 30% (Rewind S1W24 - 2 of 3)
In this rewind episode, we're breaking down how farmer Curtis Stone increased his farm sales by 30% without adding land or changing crops—just by consistently sending weekly fresh sheets to his restaurant customers. We'll take a closer look at his email template, timing strategy, and follow-up system that transforms sporadic orders into predictable revenue. Subscribe for more content on sustainable farming, market farming tips, and business insights! Get market farming tools, seeds, and supplies at Modern Grower. Follow Modern Grower: Instagram Instagram Listen to other podcasts on the Modern Grower Podcast Network: Carrot Cashflow Farm Small Farm Smart Farm Small Farm Smart Daily The Growing Microgreens Podcast The Urban Farmer Podcast The Rookie Farmer Podcast In Search of Soil Podcast Check out Diego's books: Sell Everything You Grow on Amazon Ready Farmer One on Amazon **** Modern Grower and Diego Footer participate in the Amazon Services LLC. Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.
The Restaurant Distributor Strategy: From $100 Orders to $1,500 Orders (Rewind S1W24 - 1 of 3)
In this episode, we take a look at how urban farmer Curtis Stone scaled from $100 restaurant orders to $1,500 distributor deals—and why he almost lost everything when one customer disappeared overnight. In this rewind episode, we're looking at the exact three-phase framework (overflow, negotiate, diversify) that helped Curtis manage high-stakes distributor relationships while protecting his business from catastrophic risk. Subscribe for more content on sustainable farming, market farming tips, and business insights! Get market farming tools, seeds, and supplies at Modern Grower. Follow Modern Grower: Instagram Instagram Listen to other podcasts on the Modern Grower Podcast Network: Carrot Cashflow Farm Small Farm Smart Farm Small Farm Smart Daily The Growing Microgreens Podcast The Urban Farmer Podcast The Rookie Farmer Podcast In Search of Soil Podcast Check out Diego's books: Sell Everything You Grow on Amazon Ready Farmer One on Amazon **** Modern Grower and Diego Footer participate in the Amazon Services LLC. Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.
Why Chefs Forget to Order: How to Stop Losing Restaurant Sales (S1W24)
In this episode, Curtis talks about the simple weekly marketing tool that can transform any farm's restaurant sales: he reveals how his consistent fresh sheet system increased sales by over 30% while reducing time spent on marketing from hours to just 10 minutes per week. He shares the exact format, timing, and strategies that keep busy chefs ordering regularly, plus insider tips on pricing, inventory management, and building lasting restaurant relationships that generate steady revenue. Subscribe for more content on sustainable farming, market farming tips, and business insights! Get market farming tools, seeds, and supplies at Modern Grower. Follow Modern Grower: Instagram Instagram Listen to other podcasts on the Modern Grower Podcast Network: Carrot Cashflow Farm Small Farm Smart Farm Small Farm Smart Daily The Growing Microgreens Podcast The Urban Farmer Podcast The Rookie Farmer Podcast In Search of Soil Podcast Check out Diego's books: Sell Everything You Grow on Amazon Ready Farmer One on Amazon **** Modern Grower and Diego Footer participate in the Amazon Services LLC. Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.