05/26/2026
Something we need to be considering as citizens of a nation with limited and precious resources.
Mervin Raudabaugh was offered $15M for his farm. He farmed it for 60 years. He said no and protected it from developers.
Mervin Raudabaugh, who has farmed in Silver Spring Township, Pennsylvania, for more than six decades, was offered $60,000 per acre for his 261 acres, a total approaching $15 million, by data center developers who wanted to build on his land. He turned them down.
Mervin Raudabaugh was direct about why. "I was not interested in destroying my farms," he said. "That was the bottom line. It really wasn't so much the economic end of it. I just didn't want to see these two farms destroyed."
Instead of taking the $15 million, Mervin Raudabaugh sold the development rights to the Lancaster Farmland Trust for just under $2 million. The easement attached to the property title guarantees the land will only ever be used for agriculture, regardless of who owns it in the future.
Jeff Swinehart, president of Lancaster Farmland Trust, described what drove the decision: "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."
Mervin Raudabaugh has spoken about the future of farming with real concern. "I think these two farms have a future for a farm family that hopefully will buy them in the future and love the land as I have," he told Lancaster Farming magazine.
He also warned about the broader picture: "It breaks my heart to think of what's going to take place here, because only the land that's preserved here is going to be here. The rest of every square inch is going to get built on. The American farm family is definitely in trouble."
When asked simply why he said no to $15 million, Mervin Raudabaugh put it this way: "God's green Earth. I love this land. It's been my life."
He left $13 million on the table. He said he is happy. That is a harder thing to argue with than most people expect.
