NICK GOSNELL
Hutch Post
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — Creighton University economist Ernie Goss said his survey of Midwest Bank CEOs in small towns continues to show struggles.
"Farm income, of course, is not doing well," Goss said. "Agricultural commodity prices are the number one negative coming out from the survey. Likewise, these higher interest rates are cutting into economic conditions for the farm and, for that matter, the banks that report on the farms."
The slowdown seems to mean that there is less money to spend in those rural areas.
"Our retail sales numbers were not good, coming out of the survey," Goss said. "Likewise, housing sales down. The numbers came out from the U.S. government and retail sales for January were not good down 0.8%. That mirrors what we're seeing in our survey."
The profit numbers for farmers tell the tale.
"Profitability's declining, no doubt about it," Goss said. "The USDA projects lower income, farm income for 2024. Our survey, about 44% of the bankers reported worsening farm finances. A high proportion said that they were flat."
Interest rates are up by five percentage points from 18 months to two years ago.
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