Throat Cancer
Willard Sparks, founder of the one of the world's premier agricultural consulting firms, died of throat cancer last week at his Memphis, Tenn., home Willard Sparks, founder of the one of the world's premier agricultural consulting firms, died of throat cancer last week at his Memphis, Tenn., home. He was 68. Sparks, an Oklahoma native, moved to Memphis in 1963 to work for Cook Industries, a major agricultural trading and exporting firm, as director of research and trading. He left Cook 14 years later, establishing Sparks Commodities soon afterward. That enterprise later was renamed Sparks Companies, Inc., reflecting an increased emphasis on providing risk management tools to agribusinesses and farmers. In 2003, Sparks sold Sparks Companies Inc. to Informa Group plc as part of its AGRA division. The company then was renamed Informa Economics, Inc., the company that publishes this newsletter. Informa Economics currently serves more than 750 firms and institutions worldwide from its Memphis headquarters. Sparks was born in Dibble, Okla., and grew up on his family's grain and livestock farm. He earned both a bachelor's and a master's degree in agricultural economics from Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, and a doctorate in agricultural economics from Michigan State University, East Lansing.
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