Two farmers in Maysville, Kentucky, have rejected a $26.4 million offer from an artificial intelligence company intending to build data centers on their more than 500 acres of land. Delsia Bare and her mother, Ida Huddleston, cited deeply held beliefs and a desire to protect their family's nearly 200-year legacy on the property as reasons for turning down the lucrative deal.
The offer, believed by The Wall Street Journal to be connected to Meta, was significantly above market rate. Bare was presented with an offer of $48,000 per acre for her 463 acres, while Huddleston stood to gain $60,000 per acre for her 71 acres. Despite the substantial financial incentive, Bare stated she felt she would be "held accountable" by a higher power for allowing the land to be repurposed for an AI hub, referring to it as a failure to "occupy" the property.
Bare described their decision to reject the offer with the phrase, "Kick rocks and don’t come back," to the company representatives. The mother and daughter, who self-identify as "country hicks," expressed surprise at finding themselves at the center of a dispute over technological development in their rural community. Bare, who has low vision, and Huddleston, who uses a cane, acknowledged their unexpected role as opponents to the data center's construction.
The proposed development has created a division within the Maysville community. While some residents have accepted similar offers from the company, welcoming the potential economic benefits, others, like Bare and Huddleston, have mounted opposition. These efforts include filing lawsuits challenging the construction of the data centers. Tyler McHugh, an economic development director who has liaised with the AI company, noted that some local residents who have agreed to sell their land are now involved in legal actions against their neighbors.
Meta has stated that no final decisions have been made regarding operations in the area.