Kentucky woman rejects $26 million offer to turn her farm into a data center

Ida Huddleston, an 82-year-old farmer from Northern Kentucky, has made headlines for her resolute decision to reject a lucrative $26 million offer from a major artificial intelligence company. This offer aimed to purchase a portion of her family’s farm, which has been in their possession for generations, to construct a data center. Huddleston and her family turned down the proposal, voicing their concerns about the potential impact on their 1,200 acres of farmland located near Maysville. "They call us old stupid farmers, you know, but we’re not," Huddleston stated in an interview with Local 12 WKRC. She expressed her awareness of the challenges facing agriculture, such as diminishing food sources, loss of land, and water shortages attributed to environmental issues around data centers. Doubting the promised economic benefits, Huddleston described the data center proposal as a scam, expressing skepticism about job creation in Mason County. The unnamed AI company has since adjusted its approach, filing a zoning request to rezone over 2,000 acres in Northern Kentucky, which could allow the data center to be developed adjacent to Huddleston’s property.