New Rural Mainstreet Index is out. RMI fell 10.5 points to 42.1 in July, below growth-neutral for the fifth time in six months.
In this episode I break down the farm-margin squeeze, why credit standards haven't moved, and why farmland values are holding up better than income. ⬇️
Just published the February 2026 Rural Mainstreet Index with Dr. Ernie Goss through the Menard Family Center for Economic Inquiry.
This month’s survey of community bank CEOs shows the index slipping below growth neutral, with continued stress in agricultural lending conditions.
We usually rely on GDP, trade, or wages to study the past. This paper flips the script.
It analyzes 630,000 paintings (1400-2000) with machine learning to extract emotions and shows how art tracks living standards, wars, inequality, and even climate shocks.
Fun Daido fact: I was in the trunk with an obscene amount of sheep costumes in @ahoover17_ ‘93 Corolla hatchback and he turned on Upside Down by Jack Johnson. Because I lacked a childhood this was the first I’d heard of it. Life changer. #grateful
Our first single, "Tonight I Feel Fine", will be available on streaming platforms July 21st. We are excited to say that we have completed recording our upcoming album and we're ready to start releasing music.
Check out the Spotify Pre-Save for the single
https://t.co/zhBh7KYmqu