Sprouting Gear Inc. Founder Paul Pluss Announces Report On:

“The Unintended Consequences of the AI Race on the Livestock Industry”

RAMONA, Calif., June 07, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The U.S. livestock industry, already grappling with rising feed costs and shrinking herd sizes, now faces a fast-approaching and under-recognized threat: the massive expansion of artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure—especially data centers—and its impact on water availability, says Paul Pluss, a veteran livestock rancher and researcher focused on the intersection of agriculture, water policy, and emerging infrastructure demands.

“The water usage of data centers operated by Microsoft, Google, Meta, and Amazon remains largely unrecognized by agricultural stakeholders. Prime location for data centers is the same hot dry inland location preferred for feedlots and are often sharing the same aquifers and rivers" said Pluss.

Fueled by public and private investment in AI infrastructure, the number of U.S. data centers is expected to grow from 5,426 today to more than 8,378 within five years. Many existing facilities are also expanding. These data centers—crucial for powering AI models, cloud computing, and digital services—require enormous amounts of water to cool their servers.

Key figures:

Each data center can consume up to 5 million gallons of water per day for cooling.
Average water usage per megawatt of electricity is estimated at 6 to 7 million gallons.
U.S. data center power demand is currently 35 gigawatts and rising.
Annual electricity usage by data centers is expected to nearly triple, from 224 terawatt-hours today to 606 terawatt-hours within five years.
Based on current and projected growth, total water use by U.S. data centers could exceed 15 trillion gallons annually—equivalent to more than 46 million acre-feet of water per year (calculated on the well-documented 5M gallons/day per center, prior to new expansions).

This level of water consumption rivals agricultural water use in major farming states and could soon surpass the entire livestock industry’s combined water footprint, including feed crop irrigation, drinking water, and processing needs.

View the report here, as well as a articles and short videos to explain hydroponic livestock feeding and the economics behind it:

https://sproutinggear.com/resources/

The Carbon Footprint of Livestock
“Can We REALLY Slash Livestock Environmental Damage by 90 Percent?”
Our Country’s Water Crisis: Why Aquifers Are a Bigger Problem Than the Colorado River
“Our Country’s Water Crisis”
From 2 Pounds of Seed to 19 Pounds of Feed

Paul Pluss
CEO & Founder
paul@sproutinggear.com
https://sproutinggear.com

Frequently Asked Questions

Why are AI data centers a threat to the livestock industry?

AI data centers require massive amounts of water for cooling, rivaling agricultural water usage and exacerbating water scarcity in key regions.

How much water do AI data centers consume?

Each data center can consume up to 5 million gallons of water per day. Total water use by U.S. data centers could exceed 15 trillion gallons annually.

What solutions exist to mitigate this issue?

Hydroponic livestock feeding and exploring alternative cooling methods for data centers can help reduce water consumption in both industries.

First published on Mon, Jun 9, 2025

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Tags:

AI Artificial Intelligence Livestock Data Centers Water Usage Agriculture Water Policy Data Center Water Consumption Feed Costs

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