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Data centers and energy costs weighing on farmers’ minds

Escalating energy costs are raising concerns among farmers.

“When you go out and kick on your grain dryer and your fans, you use a lot of electricity, and it’s not cheap.”

Kevin Semlow, director of governmental affairs and commodities with the Illinois Farm Bureau, says power-consuming data centers have caught the attention of the organization’s membership.

“As we see some of these big power users wanting to come into the state of Illinois, like data centers and those types of things, there’s some concern by our membership that there’s going to be an over-demand on power.”  He says, “That they won’t be able to get access to that power.”

He tells Brownfield…

“As you see demand go up and supply stays the same, what changes? It’s the price.”  He says, “Our members are concerned that as we see these higher-use facilities come in, we’re going to see prices increase, which then of course has a great impact on the bottom line.”

Semlow says IFB is encouraging members to be active in the siting of data centers at the county level.

Brownfield spoke with Semlow at the 2025 Illinois Farm Bureau annual meeting in Chicago.

AUDIO: Kevin Semlow – Illinois Farm Bureau