The Goss Rural Mainstreet Index fell to 50.8 in January from December’s much healthier reading of 56.1. The index, a survey of bank CEOs in a 10-state area that includes Iowa, is put together by Ernie Goss, who holds the Jack A. MacAllister chair in regional economics at Creighton University. A reading of 50 represents growth neutral. The Iowa index also read 50.8, a decline from 55.3 in December. Iowa was hurt by a decline in the farmland price index to 38.1 from 52.3. The farmland price index reading for the 10-state area dropped to 43.8 from 47. “Weaker farm prices are clearly negatively influencing the rural economy,” Goss said in a press release.