Mervin Raudabaugh sold development rights to a land trust for under $2 million instead of selling to developers.<\/p>\n
CUMBERLAND COUNTY, Pa. \u2014 An 86-year-old Cumberland County farmer says preserving his land was the right choice, even after turning down more than $15 million from data center developers<\/a>.<\/p>\n Mervin Raudabaugh, who has farmed in Silver Spring Township for more than six decades, said the offer came as part of a package deal involving three neighboring property owners.\u00a0<\/p>\n Raudabaugh was offered $60,000 per acre by the developers for his 261 acres to build a data center on his property, but he said preserving his land and family legacy was more important.<\/p>\n \u201cI was not interested in destroying my farms,\u201d Raudabaugh said. \u201cThat 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.\u201d<\/p>\n Raudabaugh instead sold development rights to his farm in December for just under $2 million to the Lancaster Farmland Trust, which guarantees that his land will never be used for any other purpose.<\/p>\n The land is part of more than 1,300 acres of creek frontage, an area rich in both beauty and wildlife.<\/p>\n \u201cYou won’t find that anywhere else,\u201d Raudabaugh said. \u201cYou’d have to look awfully hard to find that much good land. It’s a mecca for wildlife, and everything from deer to turtles.\u201d<\/p>\n