Guiding The Farmer Who Turned Down $15 Million for a Data Center

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When an 86-year-old farmer along the Route 81 corridor in central Pennsylvania was offered roughly $60,000 an acre for his land, the math was staggering. At 261 acres, the total approached $15 million.

For many landowners, that kind of offer would be impossible to ignore. Principle and heritage have more value for Mervin Raudabaugh, Jr., though.  

A data center developer didn’t want Raudabaugh’s land for its fertile soil; the firm wanted it for its location. Raudabaugh wasn’t interested and wasn’t selling…no matter how alluring a $60,000-per-acre offer may be to an outsider.

“I think these two farms have a future for a farm family that hopefully will buy them in the future and love the land like I have,” Raudabaugh told Lancaster Farming. 

Jeff Swinehart is part of the team that made sure that Raudabaugh’s farms could be preserved as farms for years to come.

“While Mervin was willing to give up, you know, $15 million for selling his farm to the data center, he was really committed to ensure that these farms remain open and available for agriculture,” Swinehart said.

Swinehart is President & CEO of Lancaster Farmland Trust, a non-profit that works with landowners to make sure that farms can remain farms.

Lancaster Farmland Trust history:

• Formed in 1988

• Primarily focused on 951 square mile land area of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania

• Protected 38,310 acres of farmland

Mervin Raudabaugh Farm

Raudabaugh’s farms were not in Lancaster County, the primary focus of Lancaster Farmland Trust. However, they were in Silver Spring Township in Cumberland County, just outside Harrisburg.

More than a decade ago, township voters approved an open space referendum that increased their personal income tax, with proceeds restricted for land conservation.

“So, essentially, the voters said, we want to increase the personal income tax on ourselves, and we want those funds restricted for land conservation, whether it’s farmland preservation or natural space preservation,” Swinehart explained.

Lancaster Farmland Trust serves as the nonprofit partner when the township pursues farmland preservation projects. That’s how the organization first connected with Raudabaugh.

Raudabaugh’s farms sit in a highly visible and highly desirable location along Interstate 81. With the rapid expansion of logistics hubs and data centers along major transportation corridors, development pressure is intense.

“Starting to see the explosion of data centers along some of these corridors and was approached there,” Swinehart said.

Data Center Offered Nearly $15 Million for Pennsylvania Farmland

The offer — roughly $15 million — would have required converting the farm to non-agricultural use.

“While Mervin was willing to give up, you know, $15 million for selling his farm to the data center, he was really committed to ensure that these farms remain open and available for agriculture,” Swinehart said.

The land, Swinehart emphasized, was deeply personal for Raudabaugh.

“He references about when his wife passed away…holding her on these properties. So, the properties are more than just monetary gain to him. They’re his legacy, it’s been his life.”

Preserving the Family Farm

Through the township’s open space fund, Raudabaugh was able to sell the development rights on his property at full appraised value, a rare opportunity in the land trust world.

“In our normal course of doing business, we’re never compensating landowners 100% of the appraised value of their development rights,” Swinehart said. “Currently, right now, we’re averaging about 35%.”

That means most farm families who preserve land with Lancaster Farmland Trust donate roughly 65% of the value of their development rights.

In Raudabaugh’s case, the township’s funding allowed him to receive approximately $2 million for permanently protecting his farm. That is far less than $15 million, of course, but it is still meaningful compensation.

“He was still able to preserve these two farms, realize his dream of seeing these farms remain available for the next farmer, but still was able to walk away with $2 million from preserving his farm,” Swinehart said. “In his testimony at 86, $2 million is more than enough money.”

A Land Ethic at Work

What stands out most to Swinehart isn’t just Raudabaugh’s decision, but how common similar decisions are in the region.

“It’s striking to me that it is that land ethic,” he said. “I think it’s very unique and iconic in a place like Lancaster County, that there’s this land ethic that I don’t think we necessarily see and experience in other places.”

He sees families regularly give up “hundreds of thousands of dollars, potentially millions of dollars” out of principle.

“I’ve had Amish farmers say to me, I don’t know if anyone in my family is going to want to farm this, but I want to make sure it’s available for the community,” he said.

Swinehart describes it as a stewardship mindset.

“At this moment in time, I’m the steward of this piece of property. While my name is on the deed, I don’t necessarily own it. It’s here for the community, and I want to make sure it stays here for the community.”

Even after years in the role, those conversations still leave an impression.

“It’s a very humbling experience to work with these folks,” Swinehart said. “I’ve often thought to myself, given the same circumstances, I don’t know if I could make that decision.”

For Raudabaugh, the choice ultimately wasn’t about maximizing wealth. It was about permanence and ensuring that some of Pennsylvania’s most productive non-irrigated soils remain in agriculture.

As Swinehart put it, “They are happy to do it, and they are smiling at the end of the day that they’re permanently preserving their farm.”

In an era of rising land values and relentless development pressure, that kind of conviction may be the most valuable asset rural America has.