Kentucky Family Rejects $26M Offer to Save Their Farmland from Tech Expansion

A Kentucky family has turned down a $26 million offer for their land, halting plans for a major data centre. The Huddlestons, who have farmed in Mason County for generations, refused to sell 900 acres of their 1,200-acre property. Their decision highlights growing tensions between rural landowners and tech expansion in the US. The dispute began when a Fortune 100 company proposed building a data centre campus near Maysville. The project would rezone 28 properties, covering over 2,000 acres, and bring over 1,000 construction jobs across a decade. Once complete, it would create more than 100 permanent roles with average salaries of $100,000.

The company promised to fund a second power plant at no cost to taxpayers, as required by state rules. Officials also stated the data centre would use a closed-loop water system and produce waste comparable to an existing local factory. Yet the Huddlestons remained unconvinced.

Ida Huddleston called the land 'priceless' and vowed never to sell, regardless of price. She cited concerns over water supplies, power grid strain, and the loss of agricultural land. Her family plans to keep fighting the project to preserve their farm for future generations. The rejection puts the data centre's future in doubt, though no wider impact on similar disputes has been recorded yet. The case has drawn attention to broader conflicts between farmland preservation and tech industry growth. For now, the Huddlestons' land remains in their hands, unchanged by the offer.