Ida Huddleston and her family have owned farms in northern Kentucky for generations. And they turned down at least one multi-million dollar offer to save it.
Last year, a “major artificial intelligence company” offered $26 million to sell part of the farm for a proposed data center, according to a recent report from WKRC. Huddleston and his family refused, saying they didn’t want a data center built near them or on 1,200 acres of farmland outside Maysville, Kentucky.
“They call us stupid old farmers, but we’re not,” Huddleston, 82, told Local 12WKRC. “We always know we’re out of food, we’re out of land, we’re out of water. And that poison. Well, we know we have it,” apparently referring to recent water shortages and ground poisoning that have been widely reported on land near data centers.
In an interview with the news station, Huddleston said he doubts the data center will bring jobs or economic growth to Mason County. “It’s a scam,” she said.
WKRC did not name the company, but the report said the company has filed a zoning application to amend its plans and rezone more than 2,000 acres in northern Kentucky. That means AI companies could continue to build data centers next to Huddleston’s land.
