At 86, a Pennsylvania farmer turned down more than $15 million from data-center developers and accepted $1.9 million instead, sending his land down a very different path: keeping the farm alive rather than turning it into a server campus

At 86, Mervin Raudabaugh had a decision that could have changed his finances overnight. Data center developers were willing to pay more than $15 million for his two adjoining farms in Silver Spring Township, Pennsylvania. He chose something very different. Raudabaugh accepted $1.9 million through a permanent conservation easement instead, keeping the 261 acres in agricultural use. The decision protects farmland, stream frontage, wildlife habitat, groundwater recharge and the rural view along Interstate 81.

For Raudabaugh, the choice had little to do with how many millions were on the table. It was about what he wanted the land to remain.

Why did he turn down $15 million?

The developers had offered roughly $60,000 per acre for the two farms. For many landowners, an offer exceeding $15 million would be difficult to refuse. Raudabaugh saw the decision differently.

“I was not interested in destroying my farms,” he told FOX43.

The farms had been preserved on Dec. 30, 2025, but real estate agents continued contacting him. Raudabaugh had spent 51 years milking cows, raised beef cattle until 2022 and intended to continue growing corn and soybeans.

The property was not simply land that could be sold to the highest bidder. It was where he had spent most of his life.

What made the farmland so personal?

Raudabaugh's connection to the property stretches back to his teenage years, when he milked cows before going to school. He ultimately spent about six decades working the farms.

The land also carried deeply personal family memories. The dairy barn was where his mother died in his arms. The property later became the home where he and his late wife, Anna Mae, raised their children.

Those experiences were part of the reason the decision went beyond a simple calculation of dollars and acres.

“I love this land. It’s been my life,” Raudabaugh said.

Instead of allowing the farms to become a data center, warehouse complex or residential subdivision, he chose to preserve their agricultural future.

How did the $1.9 million deal work?

Raudabaugh did not sell the farms themselves. He sold the development rights through a permanent conservation easement while keeping ownership of the property and continuing to farm it.

The restriction remains attached to the land even if it is eventually sold or inherited. A future owner can continue farming the property, but the development limitation stays in place.

Lancaster Farmland Trust lists the properties at 102 and 160 acres and says both are used to grow cash crops. The larger farm has nearly 1,200 feet of stream frontage.

The conservation easement also protects groundwater recharge and water conservation, while helping preserve wildlife habitat and open space.

One of the farms borders an Appalachian Trail parcel owned by the U.S. Department of the Interior. Along Interstate 81, that means motorists will continue seeing open farmland instead of an industrial development.

Who helped preserve the farms?

Raudabaugh made the decision, but a local farmland preservation program helped make the deal possible.

A 2013 Silver Spring Township referendum dedicated part of the earned income tax to farmland, forests and open space. The program generates about $1 million annually, with the average household contributing about $120.

The township paid the full appraised value of the easement and added a $2,500-per-acre incentive. Lancaster Farmland Trust became responsible for holding and enforcing the easement.

Even with that support, Raudabaugh accepted only about one-eighth of what the developers had offered.

That difference highlights the scale of the decision. The conservation payment was substantial, but it was nowhere close to the potential development payout.

Why are data centers reaching rural land?

The interest in Raudabaugh's property reflects the growing demand for data centers. The U.S. Department of Energy reported that data centers consumed about 4.4% of the nation's electricity in 2023 and could account for between 6.7% and 12% by 2028.

Exponentially growing artificial intelligence applications are among the forces driving that demand.

As electricity needs increase, utilities and communities are preparing for much larger electric loads. In places such as Silver Spring Township, that growth can bring development pressure to rural land near major transportation corridors.

Raudabaugh's farms became part of that larger tension between data center development and farmland preservation.

What happens to the land now?

The conservation easement gives the property a very different future. The farms remain agricultural land, and the development restriction follows the property even if another family eventually owns it.

Cumberland County reported in July 2026 that 236 farms covering 25,800 acres had been preserved since 1989. Its farmland program aims to keep viable agricultural land in production permanently.

Raudabaugh's decision is therefore part of a broader effort to protect farmland in the county.

The most recent township account was published by Silver Spring Township, while Raudabaugh's comments about the decision were reported by FOX43.

For the 86-year-old farmer, the choice was ultimately clear. More than $15 million could have transformed the property into something entirely different. Instead, $1.9 million secured a future in which corn and soybeans can continue growing, the stream frontage remains protected and the land stays connected to the life he built there.

FAQs

Why did Raudabaugh reject $15 million?
He did not want his farms destroyed by development.

Can the land still be farmed?
Yes. The easement allows agricultural use to continue.