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US farmers are rejecting multimillion-dollar datacenter bids for their land: ‘I’m not for sale’

posted by Kristi Wachter on
Families are navigating the tough choice between unimaginable riches and the identity that comes with land
The Guardian Niamh Rowe
Excerpt:
Yet despite sums that often dwarf the land’s recent value, farmers are increasingly shutting the door. At least five of Huddleston’s neighbors gave similar categorical rejections, including one who was told he could name any price. In Pennsylvania, a farmer rejected $15m in January for land he’d worked for 50 years. A Wisconsin farmer turned down $80m the same month. Other landowners have declined offers exceeding $120,000 per acre – prices unimaginable just a few years ago. The rebuffs are a jarring reminder of AI’s physical bounds, and limits of the dollars behind the technology.
posted by Kristi Wachter on

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