After hovering around Growth Neutral for three straight months, the Region’s overall Economic Reading slumped below the threshold to its lowest reading since October of last year. The Rural Mainstreet Index fell below the growth neutral threshold of 50.0, according to the latest monthly survey of bank CEO’s in rural areas of a 10-state region dependent on agriculture and/or energy. The March index slumped to 45.6 from 50.1 in February. The index ranges between 0 and 100, with a reading of 50.0 representing growth neutral.
The Kansas RMI for March dropped to 43.6 from February’s 53.5. The state’s Farmland Price Index declined to 61.4 from February’s 70.1. The new-hiring index for Kansas plummeted to 44.3 from 50.2 in February. USDA data for the top five exported agriculture products for Kansas indicate that for the first quarter of fiscal 2023, the state exported $942 million. This represented $4.43 per $1,000 of state GDP.
