The growth of data centers is creating new opportunities in rural America, but it’s also raising questions about land use, infrastructure, and the future of farming. American Farm Bureau Federation economist Bernt Nelson says those conversations are happening at a time when many farmers are facing significant financial challenges.
“Family farms are facing a lot of losses, we see losses over several years, but you also see multiple crops ranging from cotton in the South to corn, wheat, and soybeans in the Midwest. So, these families are facing these decisions, and these decisions could impact the communities around them. When a farmer is offered several times the value of agricultural land, it’s understandable why they might consider having a conversation about that when we think about this economy.”
Nelson says the economic pressure facing farmers helps explain why some landowners are considering development offers. But he notes agriculture and data centers are often competing for many of the same resources.
“Data centers are one of the fastest growing industries in America, and their expansion is happening at a really important and pivotal time for ag and for our rural communities. Ag and data centers use a lot of the same resources. They need the same things. We’re talking about water. We’re talking about electricity, fiber optic for broadband, technology access, land.”
Nelson says the long-term implications of converting farmland deserve careful consideration because those changes are often permanent.
“And if we think about and look at what happened to land over the course of the years, since 1982, we’ve lost about 56 million acres of productive farmland. That’s about the size of Kansas. And this matters because productive farmland, once it’s taken out of production, it’s pretty permanent. It rarely goes back in. So, it’s really important that we think about this in terms of food security and the well-being of our communities.”
Nelson emphasizes that data centers are not just reshaping rural landscapes. They also play an increasingly important role in modern agriculture and the broader economy.
“Data centers have become a critical infrastructure. When we think about it, you know, I used to have a flip phone back when, typing with my thumb, sending the text that I was probably getting charged for. Well, now I’ve got an iPhone in front of me. When I looked at the internet use, it was 630 gigabytes of data. That’s a lot. Ag needs data too. A planter going across the field is using stored data to plant a seed, put fertilizer down, the exact amounts it’s needed, exactly where it needs to be. And this leads to more production and more efficiency. This needs data storage.”
Nelson says farmers and local leaders will need to balance economic development with the long-term future of agricultural production as demand for data and land increases.