Experts identify potential stress areas as production risk, market risk, financial risk, legal risk and human risk. Let’s look at these and identify sources that may alleviate these unknowns from becoming undue stressors.

Knowing what the score is for each inning or quarter of the ag production game is invaluable for producers. This knowledge can modify the game plan at timely intervals, hopefully without adversely affecting the outcome.

My fear is that if we as ag producers don’t understand (or worse yet don’t pay attention to) these financial tools of cash position, budgets or profit and loss statements, and balance sheets, we may have marginal business managers of ag production in the decade of 2020 and beyond struggle unnecessarily.

"I love preparing financial statements for my banker," said no farmer or rancher ever. It's more like, "Pass the Novocain, please." Here's an article to help you with that.