OMAHA, N.E.(KELO)- Higher interest rates and a credit squeeze are hurting rural mainstreet businesses in our region.

Community Bankers in the ten-state region say we are already in…or are heading in to a recession.

Creighton University Economist Ernie Goss says the bankers have two main concerns.

Goss says the Fed is signaling interest rate cuts for the coming year.

Farm income is down, but farm loan delinquencies are holding strong.

That’s one of the findings of the monthly Rural Mainstreet Index from Creighton University.

It’s a survey of community bankers in a ten-state region.

Goss says it was a pleasant surprise.

South Dakota is bucking the trend on falling farm exports.

A Creighton University study shows exports dropped by nearly 15-percent from last year.

Goss says South Dakota exports grew by neaerly seven percent in the same time period.

Higher interest rates and recession are the main concerns as we enter 2024.