For 130 years, the Spokane Ag Bureau has been a fixture in offering farmers an annual Ag Expo and other industry events.

The bureau, a longtime partner with the Spokane Chamber of Commerce -- now known as Greater Spokane Inc.-- on Tuesday officially switched its name from the Spokane Agricultural Bureau to the Agri-Business Council of Greater Spokane Inc.

The name change happened on day one of the three-day Ag Expo taking place downtown at the Group Health Hall at the Convention Center, and at the Doubletree Hotel.

Agri-Business Council Manager Myrna O'Leary said the shift is a way to reflect the full diversity of the audience the group serves.

"First, the name 'bureau' is old-fashioned," she said, calling from the floor of Tuesday's expo event.

Plus, calling it the ag bureau seemed to imply the group focused solely on the farm community. The bigger picture is that agribusiness stretches across a number of areas, including processing, specialty product manufacturing and food distribution, she said.

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