A Northern Kentucky family is standing firm by turning down $26 million to keep its farmland out of a developer’s hands.
The Huddleston family has worked on its 1,200-acre plot of land in Mason County for generations, raising cattle that end up on dinner tables across the region.
But now, a Fortune 100 company wants a portion of it in a fight that could reshape the future of farmland across Kentucky.
Last April, Delsia Bare said an undisclosed company approached her family, offering $26 million for roughly 900 acres to build a massive data center campus just outside Maysville city limits.
“The heartbreak that it [the land] could be gone is the first thing I feel. Literally a pain in the chest right there where the heart’s at,” Bare said.
For Delsia’s mother, Ida Huddleston, the answer was simple.
“I said, ‘No, mine is priceless.’ What I’ve got here, I want to pass it down. What God told me to do was to keep it until I was through with it and then pass it on to the next generation,” Huddleston said.
The project would rezone 28 properties — more than 2,000 acres total.
Maysville City Manager Matt Wallingford said the name of the company that wants to buy the land is confidential, but the impact would be huge.
“It’s a big deal for us,” he said.
This video features an interview with Delia Bare and her mother Ida Huddleston, who reside on a historic family farm in Mason County, Kentucky. They share their story of rejecting a $26 million offer from a mysterious developer seeking to purchase their land for a massive hyperscale data center project (2:55 - 4:45).
Key Takeaways from the Discussion:
- Preservation of Farmland: The family, whose history on the land spans over 200 years (12:49), firmly believes in the importance of maintaining agricultural space to ensure long-term food security (7:39). They express deep concern that once the land is developed, it can never be returned to productive farmland (7:27).
- Lack of Transparency: The interviewees emphasize their distrust of the secretive nature of the deal, noting that the developers required non-disclosure agreements and refused to identify the ultimate entity behind the proposal (5:08 - 5:40).
- Environmental and Infrastructure Risks: Delia raises significant alarms about the environmental impact of hyper-data centers, particularly regarding potential contamination of local aquifers (9:13) and the consumption of resources. Concerns include heavy chemical use, noise pollution, and the potential displacement of long-term residents through intimidation or eminent domain (15:30 - 16:51).
- Community Impact: Another local resident, Janet Garrison, provides context on the scale of the project, which reportedly encompasses approximately 28 different properties (16:10). She describes the tactics used to pressure farmers into selling, such as warning them they will be left as "islands" surrounded by industrial infrastructure if they choose not to participate (16:32).
While the video focuses on this specific local struggle, it reflects a growing national tension between the rapid expansion of AI infrastructure and the protection of rural, agricultural communities.
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