CANNON FALLS, Minn. - Back when Don Banks was first elected a Goodhue SWCD supervisor, contour strips were the most prevalent form of conservation.
Everyone had cows and needed hay, said Banks, 84, who began serving as a Goodhue County Soil and Water Conservation District supervisor in 1961, the year the district formed. The north and south Goodhue districts merged to form the Goodhue County SWCD.
Today, as the district turns 50, minimum tillage and no-till have replaced contour strips, Banks said. Farms have grown in size and became more specialized.
Banks has seen many changes from his vantage point as a Soil and Water Conservation District supervisor for 50 years. He's stayed involved because it's so interesting and so important, he said.
He practiced conservation while farming, putting in contour strips many years ago. He farmed from 1946 to when he moved to town in 1988. He and his wife, Mary Ann, sold Pioneer seed corn for 24 years, retiring from that in 1997.
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Banks was recruited to join the SWCD board and looking back, he said, "I don't think I had a clue what it involved."
The years have sped by and Banks is respected by his fellow supervisors for his knowledge and willingness to serve.
"Don has a wealth of information," said supervisor Larry Thomforde of Zumbrota. "He says what he feels in his heart and I respect that."
"He's been a real good guy to work with," said supervisor John Jaeger of Red Wing, who's been on the board since 1991. Banks was one of the men who recruited Jaeger to run for supervisor.
Both Thomforde and Jaeger said Banks is the guy who always asks how a decision will impact the district's pocketbook.
"He's very aware of the fact that we should be judged not by how much money we spend, but by how many projects we get done," said Thomforde, the newest supervisor. He's served for about six years.
Banks is the only founding supervisor still on the board. The other founding board members are Joe Solberg, Grant Fredrickson, Walter Betcher and Walter Bremer.
Banks was honored for his years of service to the district at a Minnesota Association of Soil and Water Conservation Districts Area 7 meeting on March 29.
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"This is kind of a low blow because I didn't know anything about this," Banks said after receiving a plaque.
"All these years I've taken for granted … I've enjoyed it," he said.
