Iowa remained in growth territory in March but saw its Rural Mainstreet Index fall to 52.8 from 55.3 in February. 

Creighton University reported that the state’s farmland-price index for March dropped to 42.7 from 46.4. The new-hiring index also was lower, falling to 58.5 from February’s 60.

The monthly survey of bank CEOs in rural areas of a 10-state region dependent on agriculture and energy found that the regional index stood at 54.7, solidly in growth territory and just a tick down from February’s 54.8.

“Surveys over the past several months indicate that the Rural Mainstreet economy is trending upward with improving, but slow economic growth. However, weak agriculture commodity prices continue to weigh on the rural economy,” said Ernie Goss, the Jack A. MacAllister Chair in Regional Economics at Creighton University’s Heider College of Business.