Warren County farm becomes anti-data center canvas
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Farmer Leslie Nogle jumped at the chance to push back against Ohio's data center boom, carving out an acre of her land for this earthwork art. Photo: Courtesy of Marc Havener
An 80-year-old Warren County woman has turned her farm into a one-acre protest against data centers, with a little help from a world-renowned earthworks artist.
Why it matters: As southwest Ohio communities join the larger pushback against data center developments, the artwork makes a larger-than-life plea to protect farmland.
The big picture: The project came about as Warren County commissioners approved a six-month moratorium on data center development in September.
- Clearcreek Township, where the farm is located, unanimously approved its own yearlong pause in July, before receiving any development proposals.
Driving the news: Kansas-based artist Stan Herd recently transformed Leslie Nogle's hayfield into a giant outline of Ohio, complete with a barn, crops and a message that's hard to miss from above: "NOT FOR SALE TO DATA CENTERS."
- Herd, known for massive earthworks around the world, was commissioned by Data Center Payoffs, a group drawing attention to the industry's impact on communities.
- He unveiled the piece late last month.
How it happened: Herd connected with Nogle through the Warren County Democratic Party, which helped him find a willing landowner.
- Nogle, who's lived on the farm for 55 years, didn't hesitate.
- "I immediately said, yes, let's do it," she tells Axios. "I thought it was a great idea. Just because of the issue itself."
Between the (crop) lines: Herd and his team spent roughly two weeks creating the design with a weedwacker, colored mulch and corn.
- Nogle and three neighbors spent three days helping fill in the black outlines with mulch.
- "To watch him with that weedwhacker create this design was really amazing," she says.
The bottom line: The artwork will eventually fade, but Nogle hopes the message outlasts the mural.