(NAFB.com) – For only the second time in 2025, the overall Rural Mainstreet Index climbed above a growth-neutral reading of 50.0. That’s according to the monthly survey of bank CEOs in a rural ten-state region dependent on agriculture and energy. The December reading hit 50.1, its highest level since July 2025, and was up from November’s 44.0. The index ranges from 0 to 100, with 50.0 representing growth neutral. “Weak agriculture commodity prices and high input costs for grain producers continue to restrain economic activity in the ten-state region,” said Ernie Goss of Creighton University. When asked to identify the most effective policy changes to boost farm income, half of the bank CEOs named the reduction of farm tariffs and trade restrictions as the most effective or useful. For only the second time in the past 20 months, farmland prices expanded above growth-neutral. Farm loan delinquencies only grew by 1.6 percent during the past six months.