2019 could be another year of lower net farm income and that will dictate farmers pay even closer attention to budgeting at the start of the new year. University of Nebraska Agrisystems Economist Robert Tigner says many operations in the region have used up much of their working capital the last few years, which puts them in a tough financial position.

He says farmers need to look at three areas when putting together their crop income projections for 2019 including: projected yield, expected price and gross income.

Tigner also recommends farmers run different scenarios to determine the impact on their net farm income if their price targets are not hit during the season.

Tigner also suggests farmers look at locking in input prices to make sure they know exactly what their costs will be when budgeting and running income projections.