Box Elder data center: Utah nursery faces calls for boycott becasue its owner sits on MIDA board
J&J Nursery and Garden Center is facing calls for a boycott because its owner, state Sen. Jerry Stevenson, sits on the board that first approved the Box Elder data center project.
(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Sen. Jerry Stevenson, R-Layton, at the Utah Capitol in Salt Lake City on Friday, March 6, 2026.
After Box Elder County commissioners approved the development of a “hyperscale” data center project — ignoring a week of protests and public filings against the massive project — some on social media are now asking Utahns to boycott a plant nursery owned by a state lawmaker who sits on the board that approved the data center.
The business, J&J Nursery and Garden Center in Layton, is asking Utahns to take their ire for the data center — and its owner, Sen. Jerry Stevenson — elsewhere.
“Boycott J&J Nursery,” a social media post from Tuesday reads.
The Instagram post — a joint effort between Daryl Lindsey, whose handle is @yardfarmer.co and another account, @saltair_house, whose name is listed only as Zach — was captioned “Thank u, next,” a reference to the popular Ariana Grande song, and had more than 3,500 likes and was nearing 200 comments as of Wednesday morning.
It goes on to call out Stevenson as a member of the Military Installation Development Authority board, the body that unanimously approved a series of resolutions last month to help celebrity investor Kevin O’Leary build a massive hyperscale data center project near Snowville and Tremonton.
The board is “developing the 9-gigawatt hyperscale facility on the shores of the Great Salt Lake, despite widespread public outcry,” the post reads, adding that Stevenson owns the nursery.
Asked for comment or an interview regarding the calls to boycott his business, Stevenson responded via text message and said, “No thanks.”
Stevenson, a Republican who represents the Layton area, has been in the state Legislature since 2010. He was previously the mayor of Layton from 1994 to 2006. He is the chair of the executive appropriations committee, a powerful role overseeing state spending, and, along with other lawmakers, sits on the MIDA board. He’s served on that board since 2008.
The organizers of the boycott did not immediately respond to a request for further comment or an interview on Wednesday. The post included a list of other nurseries in the area and photos of all members of the MIDA board.
J&J Nursery sits on land that’s been in Stevenson’s family for generations, according to the website. The nursery advertises that it’s the state’s largest-producing nursery with more than 100 acres under cultivation, five acres of greenhouses and more than 100,000 trees.
The business responded to the calls for protest Tuesday evening on social media, saying they “know there are strong feelings regarding recent public decisions” and Stevenson’s public role, but is asking people not to take it out on J&J Nursery employees.
“This page represents our business and the 200+ employees who work here every day,” the post reads, asking people to “continue to treat our employees with respect.”
On the nursery’s Facebook post, people left more than 700 Facebook comments in about 13 hours. Many were from customers who say they’ll be taking their business elsewhere and that actions have consequences.
The original Instagram post had around 180 comments as of Wednesday morning, including from some of the businesses mentioned in the post as alternatives and people recommending their own favorite nurseries.
This story is breaking and may be updated.
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