The Creighton University Rural Mainstreet Index rose for August but was growth-neutral for the 12th consecutive month. The monthly survey of bank CEOs in rural areas of a 10-state region dependent on agriculture or energy rose to 41.1 on a 100-points scale, up from July’s 39.8. “Over the past 12 months, farm prices have fallen by 11 percent, cattle prices are off by 22 percent, and grain prices are down by 20 percent,” said Ernie Goss, Jack A. MacAllister Chair in Regional Economics at Creighton University’s Heider College of Business. “Weak agricultural commodity prices are pushing farm income lower and sinking the overall Rural Mainstreet economy.” Iowa’s index was 58.3, up from 51.9. Iowa’s farmland price index dropped to 40.5 from 49.7. Read the full report.