Kentucky Mother and Daughter Reject $26M Offer to Sell Farmland for Data Center

The pair say they won't sell their family's land, even as others in the area have agreed to the deal

Mar. 26, 2026 at 10:04pm

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A Kentucky mother and daughter have rejected a $26 million offer to sell part of their family's farmland to an unnamed Fortune 100 company that wants to build a 2,000-acre data center. Delsia Bare and her 82-year-old mother Ida Huddleston say the land has been in their family for generations and they won't sell, even as some other local residents have agreed to the deal.

Why it matters

This case highlights the tensions between preserving family farmland and the economic development interests of large tech companies. The proposed data center could bring hundreds of jobs, but the Bare-Huddleston family is standing firm on keeping their ancestral property, raising questions about property rights, the future of rural communities, and the trade-offs between economic growth and environmental conservation.

The details

Bare and Huddleston own hundreds of acres of farmland outside Maysville, Kentucky. They have rejected offers of over $26 million to sell part of the land to the unnamed Fortune 100 company. Huddleston says she was offered $60,000 per acre for her 71-acre property, while Bare was offered $48,000 per acre for her 463-acre property. However, the pair say they won't sell, with Huddleston calling the offers a "mind harassment." Meanwhile, other local residents have agreed to sell their land, meaning the data center project could still move forward nearby.

  • In December 2025, Andy Grosser and his father Timothy rejected nearly $8 million for their farm at the proposed data center site.
  • On March 25, 2026, a public hearing was held by the Joint Planning Commission to discuss the proposed data center project.
  • On March 26, 2026, the Joint Planning Commission held another public meeting about the data center proposal.

The players

Delsia Bare

A Kentucky woman who owns 463 acres of farmland that she has refused to sell to the unnamed company for the proposed data center.

Ida Huddleston

Delsia Bare's 82-year-old mother, who owns 71 acres of farmland that she has also refused to sell for the data center project.

Andy Grosser

A local farmer who, along with his father Timothy, rejected nearly $8 million for their farm at the proposed data center site in December 2025.

Hank Graddy

The attorney representing Mason County residents who has pledged to file a lawsuit to block the proposed zoning change for the data center.

Tyler McHugh

The economic development director for the Maysville-Mason County Industrial Development Authority, who believes the data center project will create 400 full-time jobs and over 1,500 construction jobs.

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What they’re saying

“What they've proposed and carried on it's not a business deal, it's a mind harassment.”

— Ida Huddleston

“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.”

— Ida Huddleston

“There's nothing that can destroy me if I've got this land.”

— Delsia Bare

What’s next

The Joint Planning Commission is expected to decide on the proposed zoning change for the data center project in the coming weeks. Hank Graddy, the attorney representing local residents, has pledged to file a lawsuit to block the zoning change if it is approved.

The takeaway

This case highlights the ongoing tensions between economic development and preserving family farmland and rural communities. While the proposed data center could bring jobs, the Bare-Huddleston family's refusal to sell their ancestral property underscores the deep personal and historical connections people can have to the land, even in the face of lucrative offers.