OMAHA, N.E.(KELO)- Regional bankers are expecting farmland prices to drop…but so far, they’ve been wrong.

Creighton University Economics Professor Ernie Goss says farmland prices have been on a steady increase for more than three years.

Many observers say the rising farmland prices are being pushed higher by non-farm speculators.

Goss says that’s true to an extent, but he adds farmers are also among the buyers.

Community bankers in our region are turning sour on their outlook on the economy, due mainly to higher interest rates.

Those rates are making their business more difficult by squeezing profit margins.

Creighton University Economics Professor Ernie Goss says they’re also concerned about the impact higher rateas are having on farm profits.

Goss says many foreign countries are in recession, which is cutting into the U-S farm export business.