- For a seventh straight month the overall index rose above growth neutral.
- Bankers reported a decline in the sale of agriculture equipment and expect sales to decline by another 7.8 percent over the next 12 months.
- More than one-half of bankers supported cutting recently enacted tariffs.
- In reaction to weak farm commodity prices and income, almost one-third of bank CEOs reported rejecting a higher percentage of farm loans.
Overall: The overall index climbed to 54.8 from 53.8 in July. The index ranges between 0 and 100 with 50.0 representing growth neutral.
“Surveys over the past several months indicate the Rural Mainstreet economy is expanding outside of agriculture. However, the negative impacts of recent trade skirmishes have begun to surface, weakening already anemic grain prices,” said Ernie Goss, PhD, Jack A. MacAllister Chair in Regional Economics at Creighton University’s Heider College of Business.
According to Jim Stanosheck, CEO of State Bank in Odell, Nebraska, “The tariffs have and are costing our ag customers on grain prices and items they must purchase. Talking to one of my customers this morning, he thought that maybe the tariffs would bring about better prices in the future.”