ND Ag Hall Of Fame Inductees

Banks Sieber

Banks Sieber served as County Extension Agent for 35 years in Oliver, Sheridan, and Bottineau Counties starting in 1945 and was a prime example of everything a county agent could do.  He helped organize the Oliver-Mercer Electric Cooperative, organized the Oliver County Soil Conservation District, re-organized rural telephone in parts of Sheridan and Bottineau Counties and helped in the organization of the rural water system in Bottineau County and parts of McHenry County.

He enjoyed working with young people in all 4-H activities.  Agriculture, with all its many aspects, was his main focus.  He used every method at his disposal in getting the word out to farmers in that era when fertilizer usage, farm chemicals, farm records, management and marketing information was really moving ahead.  Sieber used telephone calls, farm calls, office calls, letters, meetings, tours, workshops, demonstrations and a weekly newspaper column "The Business of Farming".

His crop production programs were highly organized and offered cutting edge technology.  He trained many assistant county agents.  Banks held leadership positions in the Bottineau County Weed Board, Manitoba-North Dakota Zero Till Association na d the Bottineau Chamber of Commerce.  He served as State President of the ND County Agent Association, ND Soil Conservation Society and the ND State Horticulture Society.  He has state awards from 4-H, FFA, Soil Conservation Districts, Manitoba-North Dakota Zero-Till Association, ND Crop Improvement Association, and the R.L. Wodarz Award which is given for outstanding contributions to horticulture in North Dakota.  He considered it a privilege to have worked with and for so many wonderful people.  The contributions Banks Sieber made to the quality of life in the areas he served will be his legacy.

Year Inducted: 2007