Texas Agriculture Commissioner Proposes Agriculture Freedom Zones to Protect Farmland from Data Centers
Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller proposed creating Agriculture Freedom Zones (AFZs) to protect farmland from data centers. The plan aims to use targeted tax incentives to direct data center development to less suitable lands, preserving vital agricultural resources.
States would nominate areas like marginal land or brownfields for these zones, which could qualify for various tax incentives upon approval. The proposal emphasizes the need for long-term food security and positions agriculture as essential national infrastructure. Miller warned that the encroachment of data centers threatens food supply and stressed the importance of acting now to prevent irreversible land loss.
