America's farmers and ranchers have a new kind of neighbor to worry about: the AI data center. Across the U.S., they're pushing back against sprawling construction projects that they say are eating up prime farmland and competing for the water and electricity they rely on.
The U.S. currently has about 5,000 data centers built or under construction. The big ones require large, flat plots of land with easy access to water and power grids — conditions that also happen to describe a lot of good farmland.
Some of these facilities consume as much electricity as a mid-sized city. Farmers fear that rising demand will push up their energy bills, while ranchers in drought-prone areas worry that when water runs short, agriculture will be the first to be told to cut back.
Roughly 20 states are now considering restrictions on data center development. The tech industry argues that many projects are air-cooled for most of the year and use far less water than agriculture does.