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Cattle producers voicing concerns as data centers compete for land, water resources

There is growing concern that data centers will pose a threat to the future of the ag industry. 

Virginia cattle producer Rebecca Webert says her state has highest number of facilities in the country and that’s  made it extremely difficult for producers to get started.  

“Data centers are paying significantly more for acreage than you could pay on an open market if you wanted to continue to keep that land in farm use,” she says.

She says companies also build out their infrastructure and some require the use of solar panels as the sole source of power. 

“Solar is one of those things that shouldn’t be using prime farmland,” she says.

Keayla Harr, a cow/calf operator from northeast Ohio, says there also concerns about water availability and quality.

“Just the sheer amount of water that they’re taking away,” she says. “We would otherwise be able to use it for our valuable crop ground in preserving those natural resources.”

Harr says the centers are also taking farmland out of production in her state. 

Both producers say there needs to be a balance storing digital information without it coming at the expense of producers.