The federal government is leasing public land to artificial intelligence companies while family farms face collapse and grocery prices climb relentlessly. America requires more farmers, ranchers, and private landowners—not more data centers or chatbots. Yet the government prioritizes artificial intelligence over agriculture, offering expansive tracts of public land to tech corporations as family farms and ranches vanish and consumer costs rise.
Conservatives have long warned that excessive federal land control, particularly in western regions, jeopardizes freedom and economic vitality. The Trump administration shares this concern but has pursued an erroneous path by accelerating AI infrastructure on government property. If the nation needs a new Manhattan Project, it should focus on food security, not AI development.
Instead of transferring authority to states or private citizens, the government empowers an industry that consumes vast resources with minimal tangible benefits for ordinary Americans. This approach follows Interior Secretary Doug Burgum’s controversial plan to establish 15-minute cities and “affordable housing.”
In July, President Trump signed an executive order titled Accelerating Federal Permitting of Data Center Infrastructure as part of its AI Action Plan. The directive expedites approvals, offers financial incentives, and opens federal properties—including Superfund sites and military bases—to AI-related projects. The Department of Energy identified four initial locations: Oak Ridge Reservation in Tennessee, Idaho National Laboratory, the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant in Kentucky, and the Savannah River Site in South Carolina.
Last month, the list expanded to include five Air Force bases—Arnold (Tennessee), Davis-Monthan (Arizona), Edwards (California), Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst (New Jersey), and Robins (Georgia)—totaling over 3,000 acres leased to private developers at fair market value.
While locating AI facilities on military property avoids disrupting residential or agricultural areas, the favoritism toward Big Tech raises a critical question: Is this the optimal use of public land? Will anchoring these corporations on federal property render them “too big to fail,” echoing the 2008 financial crisis?
President Trump has acknowledged the shortage of affordable meat as a national emergency. If any sector deserves federal support, it is America’s independent farmers and ranchers. Yet while Washington clears land for billion-dollar data centers, small producers disappear. Over the past five years, the U.S. lost approximately 141,000 family farms and 150,000 cattle operations. The national cattle herd is at its lowest level since 1951. Since 1982, America has lost more than half a million farms—nearly a quarter of its total.
Multiple pressures—including rising input costs, droughts, and inflation—have crippled family farms unable to compete with corporate giants. Federal land policy also contributes. Government control over Western lands restricts grazing rights, water access, and expansion opportunities. If Washington seeks to sell or lease public land, why not prioritize ranchers needing it for feed and forage?
The Conservation Reserve Program exacerbates the issue. The 2018 Farm Bill extension locked up 30 million acres of land—five million in Wyoming and Montana alone—under the guise of conservation. Wealthy absentee owners exploit the program by briefly “farming” land to qualify it as cropland, then retiring it into CRP to collect taxpayer payments. Over half of CRP acreage is owned by non-farmers, some earning over $200 per acre while the land remains idle.
These acres could sustain hundreds of cattle per section or produce millions of tons of hay. Instead, they create artificial shortages driving up feed costs. During the post-COVID inflation surge, hay prices spiked 40%, reaching $250 per ton this year. Ranchers now face six-figure annual expenses in a business operating on razor-thin margins.
If the nation needs a new Manhattan Project, it should focus on food security, not AI development. Free up federal lands and idle CRP acreage for productive use. Support ranchers in growing herds and lowering food prices instead of subsidizing a speculative industry already bloated with venture capital and hype.
Currently, every dollar of revenue at OpenAI costs roughly $7.77 to generate—a debt spiral inviting the next taxpayer bailout. By granting these firms privileged access to public land, the government risks creating another class of untouchable corporate entities, mirroring Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s fate two decades ago.
AI will not feed Americans. It will not fix supply chains. It will not lower grocery bills. Until these companies can provide real food on real tables, federal land should serve its intended purpose: to sustain the people who live and work upon it.
Daniel Horowitz is the host of “Conservative Review with Daniel Horowitz” and a senior editor for Blaze News.
