Survey: Farm Equipment Sales Remain Weak

The Creighton University Rural Mainstreet Index for April fell unexpectedly from March’s weak reading, according to the monthly survey of bank CEOs.

After increasing for two straight months, the Rural Mainstreet Index (RMI), which ranges between 0 and 100, sank to 38.2 from March’s 40.2.

“Even though agriculture and energy commodity prices have increased recently, they remain well below prices 12 months earlier,” said Ernie Goss, professor of economics at Creighton University’s Heider College of Business. “Compared to 12 months earlier, prices for farm products are down by 16 percent, and energy products are 8 percent lower.”

Goss was the keynote speaker at the Association’s Spring Conference in Clearwater.

The farm equipment-sales index climbed to a frail 11.1 in April from March’s record low 6.7.

The confidence index, which reflects expectations for the economy six months out, increased from 30.1 in March to 34.8 in April.

Goss attributed the uptick in confidence to higher agriculture commodity prices but acknowledged that the index reading remains “sub-par.”

Bankers from Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming participate in this monthly survey, which provides a snapshot of the economy in about 200 rural communities largely dependent upon the energy and agriculture industries. S