The effects of the agricultural crisis have also been felt among business operators in small towns of North Dakota. Our recent survey of business operators provides a first-hand glimpse at how farm events affected nonfarm businesses, the management adjustments operators made, and their expectations for the next few years. Businesses that started up in the 1970's appear to have been hurt most by declining revenue and falling equity in the farm sector. Business operators were nonetheless cautiously optimistic about the future.