PERSONNEL: SPARKS NAMED TO COUNSELORS TEAM

Richard Sparks, business specialist in Cape Girardeau County, has been named to join a team of regional University of Missouri Extension ag business counselors to help farmers start or expand value-added businesses.

The team is part of the newly formed Missouri Value-added Development Center on the UM campus.

The idea is to provide Missouri farmers with local contacts with small business development specialists and access to service providers related to value-added enterprise, said John Gardener, associate dean for extension at the University of Missouri-Columbia.

Specialist in the new network are receiving training to help farmers identify markets, how to manage value chains and design new businesses, said Joe Parcell, center director.

Sparks may be contacted at the Cape Girardeau County University Outreach and Extension Center, 815 Hope, in Jackson.