A family from Kentucky that has lived in Maysville for years rejected a $26 million offer to turn its farmland into a data center. This is the story of Delsia Bare and her family, who have now found themselves in a tight spot after living a peaceful life on their ancestral land for years.
When representatives from an unnamed Fortune 100 artificial intelligence (AI) company approached her last April with an offer to buy about half of her family’s 1,200-acre property at nearly ten times the typical price for farmland in Mason County, she declined on the spot.
According to a clip shared by journalist Jack Heard, Delsia Bare’s family happens to be one of the dozen families in Maysville who were approached by the prominent AI company, which is a direct competitor to tech giants like Google, Amazon and Meta.
“Stay and hold and feed a nation. $26 million doesn’t mean anything,” Bare said.
🚨BREAKING: Kentucky family rejects a $26 million offer to turn their farmland into a data center, roughly 10x the area’s going rate.
“If it’s my way, I’ll stay and hold and feed a nation. 26 million doesn’t mean anything.”
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— Jack (@jackunheard) March 24, 2026
She said her grandfather and great-grandfather cultivated wheat there through the Great Depression, helping sustain communities during hard times. Delsia’s 82-year-old relative, Ida Huddleston, was even more direct, dismissing the company’s promises of jobs and growth.
“They call us stupid farmers, but we are not; we know whenever our food is disappearing, and our lands are disappearing,” she sternly added.
“We don’t have any poison,” the farm owner said, implying the purity of the crops that lead to fresh food on the table. The 82-year-old said she does not need the money and has no interest in dealing with the hassle of selling her land in Maysville, Kentucky.
The family’s stance reflects a broader trend. Across the United States, farming families are turning down buyout offers from tech companies seeking rural land to build AI data centers.
For many families like Delsia and Ida, the decision to give up their land is deeply personal, with strong emotions tied to it. Ida Huddleston said she was born on this land in Maysville and wishes to take her last breath on the soil.
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Despite her age, Ida said she does not trust the artificial intelligence companies that have claimed they would transform the rural area, nor does she trust the people who want to build here and revolutionize it. She called the process a “scam” and dismissed the idea.
While Delsia Bare did not reject the concept, she said that she feels connected to her home, referencing how Scarlett O’Hara (played by Vivien Leigh) was connected to her family home in the 1939 film Gone With the Wind.
Bare added that she takes pride in maintaining the land, which highlights a strong sense of family legacy and community. She said, ‘As long as I am on this land, as long as it feeds me and as long as it’s taking care of me, nothing can destroy me if I have this land.’
The cult classic focuses on Scarlett O’Hara, who lives with her family during the American Civil War era on her family’s cotton plantation in Georgia. The plot follows a journey of romance and bittersweet emotions tied to the plantation.
Furthermore, in Mason County, several landowners have also taken a stand against the idea. According to sources, Dr. Tim Grosser, who raises cattle with his son on 250 acres, declined offers reportedly reaching $35,000 per acre. When encouraged to make his own bid, he declined, saying the money was not worth it.
Although the AI company has not been publicly named, its proposed project, including a 2.2-gigawatt power request filed with a regional energy cooperative, suggests involvement from one of the few hyperscale data center operators.
