Community Bankers of Iowa Monthly Banker Update February 2014 | Page 16

Creighton

Main Street
Economic Survey

U N I V E R S I T Y

Ernie Goss

Weak 2014 Start for Rural Mainstreet Economy:
Farmland Price Index Lowest Since 2009

January Survey Results at a Glance:
• Rural Mainstreet Index indicates much weaker growth
for January.
• Farmland price index sinks to lowest level since
October 2009.
• Farm equipment sales index down for the seventh
straight month.
• Almost 80 percent of bank CEOs expect EPA’s cut in the
2014 ethanol blending level to negatively affect the
economy.
• Approximately 62.5 percent of bankers recommend
ending extended unemployment insurance benefits
immediately.
For Immediate Release: Jan. 16, 2014
OMAHA, Neb. – Growth for the Rural Mainstreet economy
plummeted, according to the January survey of bank CEOs in a
10-state area.
Overall: The Rural Mainstreet Index (RMI), which ranges
between 0 and 100, with 50.0 representing growth neutral, fell to
50.8 from December’s much healthier to 56.1.
“The overall index for the Rural Mainstreet Economy continues
to indicate that the areas of the nation highly dependent on
agriculture and energy continue to expand at a positive but
slower pace. Over the past year, corn, soybean and wheat
prices have declined by 41 percent, 10 percent and 16
percent, respectively. Weaker farm prices are clearly negatively
influencing the rural economy. Additionally, almost 80 percent
of bank CEOs expect the EPA’s cut in ethanol blending level
to negatively affect the Rural Mainstreet economy,” said Ernie
Goss, the Jack A. MacAllister Chair in Regional Economics at
Creighton University.
Farming and Ranching: The farmland and ranchland-price
index plunged to 43.8, its