Life, Liberty & the Pursuit of Americana
Despite a slight rebound from October’s five‑year low, Creighton University’s latest Rural Mainstreet Index report shows the Midwest & Northern Rockies heartland still mired below growth neutral, with weak grain prices, soft ag land values, and cautious rural bankers keeping recession risks elevated. November’s RMI: Off the Floor, Still in the Red The Rural Mainstreet […]
October’s Mainstreet Index Marks a Five‑Year Low The heartbeat of rural America slowed this month. The latest Creighton University Rural Mainstreet Index (RMI) came in at 34.6 for October 2025—the weakest reading since May 2020, and the eighth straight month below the growth neutral mark. For those who watch the contours of the rural economy, […]
Diary of Orrin Brown, Savannah, Georgia Tuesday–Jan 3rd We had a very pleasant night and it is clear and warm. Four of us got a pass to go to the City today, there was any amount of provisions selling at the market house. I will here state some of the prices. Potatoes were selling at […]
Preliminary results are in on the 2012 Census of Agriculture. Following the long-term trend, USDA counted fewer larger farms, much fewer in some states like Minnesota, and actually a few more in others like Wyoming. And farmers are getting older. Full figures due in May. The USDA Press Release gives the details: Value of Sales […]
. Press Release Minnesota Animal Agriculture Sector Is Growing, Provides Significant Economic Value New study finds industry employs thousands, contributes billions in revenue and has potential to expand St. Paul, MN (July 9, 2012) – The Minnesota Livestock Industry Benchmark Report released today, found that Minnesotaʼs animal agriculture industry is substantial and continues to create […]
Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton has called for a Special Session of the Legislature the week of Thanksgiving to pass legislation for a new Minnesota Vikings stadium. The Minnesota Vikings have bandied ideas about for years for a new NFL football stadium to replace the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome. Their current $1.1 billion proposal would site a […]
[v=Hrg1CArkuNc] Milton Friedman, in my book, can do no (economic) wrong. In Anatoly Kaletsky’s recent book—Capitalism 4.0: The Birth of a New Economy in the Aftermath of Crises (Public Affairs, 2010)—Friedman and the rest of us “market fundamentalists” can do nothing right. Following the spectacular collapse of the banking system in 2007-09, a gaggle of […]
Speaking of Change… there are three schools of thought on handling this economic “sea of change”… The academic approach will struggle to apply logic to the circumstance and forecast the end (Confusionism). The creative and/or artistic approach seeks to make peace with the current situation, waiting patiently for resolution (Buddhism). Or finally, the pragmatist will […]
