I pulled 39 documents: North Carolina Secretary of State annual reports, USDA payment records, USPTO trademark filings, and one SEC Form D notice. Here's what they reveal...
Compiled 2026-08-20 · Filings reviewed: 39 · Entities: DFC Stokes LLC · DFC Stokes 2 LLC · Engineered Land Solutions LLC · Siift Inc.
Fact 01 — Thirteen-Plus Years Filed as "Farming":
Stokes county is an agricultural county, and I beleive it should stay that way. I have stated that the land to be rezoned to "M2-CZ/Heavy Industrial - Conditional Zoning" classification is in fact "farmland". The following annual reports by the property owner should put any question about the validity of that statement to rest.
Every annual report filed by DFC Stokes, LLC (2013–2026) and DFC Stokes 2, LLC (2014–2026) with the NC Secretary of State lists the nature of business as "Farming". There is no deviation from that across 27 consecutive filings.
| Entity | SOSID | Formed | Report years | Filings | Manager (every year) | Nature of business (every year) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DFC Stokes, LLC | 1257019 | 4/30/2012 | 2013–2026 | 14 | David F. Couch | "Farming" |
| DFC Stokes 2, LLC | 1315673 | 5/2/2013 | 2014–2026 | 13 | David F. Couch | "Farming" |
Fact 02 — $169,209 in USDA Farm Program Payments:
USDA subsidy records show $169,209 paid to "Dfc Stokes LLC" between 2013 and 2025, entirely in Stokes County, North Carolina. These monies include payments for commodity and disaster relief programs for row crops, and livestock.
| Program category | Program | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Commodity ($122,742) | Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (Rounds 1 & 2, incl. cattle & acreage top-ups) | $52,035 |
| Emergency Commodity Assistance Program (ECAP) | $23,928 | |
| Market Facilitation Program (non-specialty crops) | $21,075 | |
| Agricultural Risk Coverage (ARC-CO) | $18,908 | |
| Direct Payments (corn, soybeans, wheat, barley, oats, sorghum) | $6,795 | |
| Disaster (~$46,468) | Emergency Relief Program (non-specialty crops) | $23,367 |
| Livestock Forage Disaster Program | $10,614 | |
| Supplemental Disaster Relief Program, Phase 1 | $8,547 | |
| Emergency Livestock Relief Program (2023/2024) | $3,940 |
These line items further endorse the claim and support the current zoning of the land as agricultural.
Fact 03 - Engineered Land Solutions: Real Estate, Not Engineering:
Formed December 2024, Engineered Land Solutions, LLC (ELS) has filed two USPTO trademark applications in 2026 describing "data center" real estate acquisition and development, not engineering or construction! Their NC corporate filings never name a member, list no fixed principal office, and swapped their own CEO out as registered agent within 16 months.
| Filing | Date | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| Articles of Organization | 12/11/2024 | Organizer, initial registered agent & CEO: Andrew Scott Nations. No member checked. Principal office box: "does not have a principal office." |
| 2025 Annual Report | 4/17/2025 | Nature of business: "Land Development." Nations remains registered agent; listed as Manager. |
| 2026 Annual Report | 4/8/2026 | Registered agent changed to outside firm Hull & Chandler, P.A. Nature of business updated to "Real Estate Development." Nations still sole Manager; still no member listed. |
| Trademark "ELS" | 5/28/2026 | Ser. 99851218. Goods/services: real estate acquisition services; business administration for data centers; project management for data center construction. |
| Trademark "Data Centers Done Right" | 7/16/2026 | Ser. 99944332. Filed about 7 weeks after "ELS," same applicant and address. |
Across all three NC filings, the only person ever named in any role is Andrew Scott Nations. No operating agreement, member, or independent registered office appears anywhere in the record.
Fact 04 — Nations Is Also a Director of a Delaware Hedge Fund:
SEC Form D shows Andrew Scott Nations ("Drew Nations") as a Director of Siift Inc., a Delaware corporation formed in 2022 that identifies as a Pooled Investment Fund / Hedge Fund, raising capital under the Rule 506(b) private-offering exemption and the Investment Company Act Section 3(c)(1) exclusion.
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Entity | Siift Inc. — CIK 0002070589 — Delaware corp., formed 2022 |
| Principal office | 4010 North Ocean Boulevard, Delray Beach, FL 33483 |
| Industry group | Pooled Investment Fund → Hedge Fund (not registered as an investment company) |
| Exemptions claimed | Rule 506(b); Investment Company Act §3(c)(1) |
| Offering / sold / investors | $2,000,000 offered · $1,200,000 sold · 15 investors · first sale 4/16/2025 |
| Related persons (all Directors) | Rob Long (CEO), Jason Pohanka, Andrew Scott Nations, Stuart Carrington, John Carrington |
A Puzzle with Missing Pieces:
Each fact above is independently sourced. What the records do not show is any filing connecting the DFC Stokes farming cluster to Nations or Engineered Land Solutions. Such a link, if it exists, sits entirely inside the open questions below. A more important question is who or what money is funding the potential development of the parcels up for rezoning.
More Questions than Answers...
Q: Will Engineered Land Solutions build the "data center" if this is approved?
A: reasonable to doubt. The trademark filings support "data center" as the theme of ELS's business, but the actual service description, "real estate acquisition services", and "business administration of" and "project management for" data center construction reads more like an acquisition/coordination role than a builder's role. Combined with ELS having no members, no fixed office, no employees on record, and no construction history, the more likely scenario is that ELS is a veiled acquisition vehicle assembling or optioning land and services around a "data center"" narrative.
Q: Will a "data center" be built there at all? Should we be worried about a bait and switch?
A: Yes, you should be worried about a bait and switch, and I think this is a concern that has been largely ignored. Here are a few reasons that concern isn't just speculation:
- Engineered Land Solutions bears the hallmarks of a shell corporation: no members, no fixed office, agent swapped to an outside law firm... This is a common structure for entities meant to hold entitlements and then transfer them. That paints a scenario where the entity that wins the rezoning is not the entity that ends up building anything. Nations involvement with an entity that leverages rule 506(b) and ICA 3(c)(1) should raise concerns and serious questions. This will make it extremely difficult if not impossible to discover who is funding this acquisition and development. That is information the citizens of Stokes County North Carolina deserve to know.
- The land in question, held under 13+ years of "Farming" filings and USDA program payments, appears to be enrolled in North Carolina's "Present Use Value" property tax program. The land has an assesed market value of $4,529,900 with 3,886,700 of that value tax deferred. A sale or change in use should trigger a deffered tax rollback assessment. Note of interest, all three parcels underwent a "Change in Zoning or Use" filing on 03/06/2026.
A Proud Mind and Empty Purse Grow Ill Together.
I have been more concerned with the rezoning aspect of this issue than the "data center" angle from the outset. It doesn't matter to me if they plan to build a data center there, a shopping mall, or an office park; it is farmland that should not be rezoned. Drastically changing the land use will place strain on adjoining properties, farms, and the town of Walnut Cove. Regardless of the type of installation, it will be an 1800 acre industrial project that will be to the detriment of its neighbors, and to the county at large.
The presentations provided by the "developer", Engineered Land Solutions, have lacked substance and merit, instead relying on flashy promises of tax revenue and job creation. The spokesman for this project has repeatedly demonstrated inability or unwillingness to answer even basic questions about the project, planning, and long term effects. That raises serious questions and doubt in my mind about what the real goal is here...
I beleive it's entirely possible that a rezoning campaign has been opportunistically framed as a "data center" project to appeal to the political demographic of Stokes County North Carolina, the board of commissioners, and to capitalize on a cause du jour. Stokes County is a rural county with a strong agricultural heritage, and I think the land owner and investors are savvy enough to know that it would take a special circumstance to move the needle on rezoning this land. They well knew this would be an unpopular project. I belive that we would be better served highlighting our agricultural spirit and rejecting a rezoning "full stop" than fighting what may well turn out to be a misdirection.
The M2-CZ "Conditional Zoning" offers some protection in the way of site survey, ordinance, and controls in the way of noise, light, and air pollution, but it does not guarantee what will be built on the site. It does not guarantee a "data center" nor any of the promises of jobs and tax revenue, and whats more, it is not written in stone. The conditional zoning can be altered just as much as the current zoning can changed.
We give away far too much ground by arguing about a "data center", and acceptable noise levels and light pollution etc. I remain unreasonable in my position. No rezoning. Not for data centers, or any other industrial development. The land was agricultural farmland and should remain so. Secretive Investors hidden and private equity should look elsewhere than Stokes County to pillage and plunder what is left of the American dream.
Methodology & Sources
39 documents reviewed: 32 North Carolina Secretary of State filings (Articles of Organization and annual reports for DFC Stokes LLC, DFC Stokes 2 LLC, and Engineered Land Solutions LLC), 1 SEC Form D (Siift Inc.), 3 USDA subsidy database tables, and 3 USPTO trademark database entries, Stokes County GIS Records.
- All dollar figures, dates, SOSIDs, and serial numbers above are transcribed directly from the source filings.