Woman Explains Why Her Family Is Refusing $26 Million Offer To Turn Part Of Their Farm Into A Data Center

A farming family in Kentucky has shared a strong and personal reason for turning down a massive financial offer from a tech company. The company wanted to buy part of their land to build a large data center, but the family chose to keep their farm instead.

Ida Huddleston, who is 82 years old, and her family were offered an eye-catching $26 million for their 534 acres of land in northern Kentucky. The offer came from an unnamed Fortune 100 tech company and was said to be around ten times the land’s estimated value.

Huddleston and her daughter, Delsia Bare, who owns most of the land, have joined a growing number of farmers who are choosing not to sell. Many are being approached with large offers as demand grows for land to support data centers used in artificial intelligence, but not all are willing to give up what they have built over generations.

The family has worked the land for decades, facing both good years and difficult ones. Through all of it, they have stayed committed to their farm. Bare explained that, for her, the decision was not just about money but about something deeper, saying: "If it's my way, I'll stay and hold and feed a nation. 26 million doesn't mean anything."

Ida's daughter Delsia Bare also refused to sell YouTube/LEX18

This family is not alone in facing these kinds of offers. Other farmers in the area have also been approached with large sums of money to sell their land. Some have accepted, while others have chosen to hold on, even as the tech company continues to push forward with its plans.

For Bare, the offers miss an important point. She believes they do not reflect the deep connection her family has to the land they live and work on. She explained: "As long as I'm on this land, as long as it's feeding me, as long as it's taking care of me, there's nothing that can destroy me if I've got this land."

She went on to describe how her family’s history is tied closely to the land itself, saying: "My grandfather and great-grandfather and a whole bunch of family have all lived here for years, paid taxes on it, fed a nation off of it."

This connection is not only personal but also tied to larger moments in American history. Bare spoke about how her family played a role during difficult times, adding: "Even raised wheat through the Depression and kept bread lines up in the United States of America when people didn't have anything else."

While the unnamed tech company continues trying to buy land in the area, even attempting to secure large amounts of power from a nearby station, Huddleston remains firm in her position. She has seen many changes over the years and is not willing to give up the land now.

After living through decades of change, Ida Huddleston made her stance clear when she said: "They call us old stupid farmers, you know, but we're not."

"We know whenever our food is disappearing, our lands are disappearing, and we don't have any water—and that poison. Well, we know we've had it."

When asked whether the proposed data center might bring jobs or boost the local economy, Huddleston dismissed the idea and described it as a 'scam'. She added: "I say they're a liar, and the truth isn't in them."

Even if they choose not to sell, there is still a chance the data center could be built nearby if other landowners agree to sell their property. Still, Bare remains committed to staying on the land, holding onto it with the same determination seen in classic stories of people protecting what matters most to them.

She explained her feelings about the land and her connection to it, saying: "As she was attached to that land, her spirit never would die. That's the exact same thing for me right here."

"As long as I'm on this land—as long as it's feeding me—as long as it's taking care of me—there's nothing that can destroy me if I've got this land."