First Dakota National Bank Agriculture Division President Nate Franzen says the challenge for most producers is to step back and sort through the noise in the markets. In the current ag economy, Franzen has three recommendations. “Know your costs, know what’s profitable and Having a strong accounting and financial management system is a huge difference. “In the 80s, it was more production issues. This time I think the focus is on knowing the numbers, the breakeven levels and are you making market decisions because of it. If you strong systems, you’ll be all right and you’ll survive. If you don’t, you’ll be in a high risk category.”


