Friday May 5 Ag News

Northeast ag students get a taste of AWG Fresh Foods Show; pantry benefits from donated food

Several Northeast Community College students were like kids in a candy store. Or make that a grocery store.

Agriculture students of Brandon Keller’s Ag Marketing Systems classes and Dr. Trentee Bush’s horticulture classes were invited by Associated Wholesale Grocers (AWG) to participate in its annual Fresh Show held in the College’s Lifelong Learning Center. The interior of the building was set up like a grocery store with products and displays with vendors promoting their products. In addition, hundreds of fresh flowers and plants adorned the LLC’s atrium.

“We were out here last year and we thought it would be good to connect with the college to find out if there is anything that we could do to shed light on what we do,” Jason Anderson, director of fresh sales at AWG, told the students. “We really want to open it up and expose you to what we do, what we're passionate about and what we feel is very important.”

Anderson explained AWG’s business model to the students. It serves over 1,100 member companies and over 3,400 locations throughout 31 states from nine full-line wholesale divisions. The Norfolk distribution center serves stores in Colorado, Kansas, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wyoming. The company, founded in 1924, is the nation’s largest food cooperative wholesaler to independently owned and operated supermarkets. Independent grocers may be as large as 200+ store operations to stores that have one location. Consolidated sales were $12.3 billion in 2022.

Anderson said that AWG operates as a cooperative.

“So the way our business is structured is the people that you see out there today at the fresh show - the store owners - all have to invest in our coop in order to become a member. And once they are a member and they go through the process, they buy groceries and other items, and we help them grow.”

Anderson offered statistics that demonstrate the true size of AWG. For example, a load of bananas per day through AWG equals approximately 350,000 cases. That comes to 31 million bananas over a one-year period. Also, the 10.5 million miles AWG trucks drive is equivalent to circumnavigating the Earth 422 times.

“We have to make sure our trucks are running because we're constantly delivering groceries,” Anderson said. “Our drivers are some of the best I've ever seen. And with all the weather we had this past winter navigating blizzards and the like, it's amazing how those guys know where to go to get to the stores and take care of our members.”

Anderson stressed the importance of deliveries citing the pandemic in 2020. He said grocery stores were integral during that time and still are.

“The employees at the warehouse worked hard to get those items picked and loaded onto the trucks and getting those loads out to the stores because people were in quarantine and didn’t want to go to the bigger stores. They preferred the smaller, independent grocers. Our stores really stepped up in our local communities.”

The show is described as an upbeat occasion where AWG works on behalf of its members stores. Anderson said if stores are looking for items such as more organic products, competitive prices or more deals, they will work with their members on their behalf.

“Essentially, our fresh show is an opportunity for our members - our stores - to come in and meet with vendors on innovation, new products, opportunity buys and anything they can do to buy in and provide a value to their store when we deliver that product and offer value to the consumers,” he said. “What you see out there is a lot of people placing orders, people talking about what's going on in markets and things of that nature.”

The Northeast instructors were pleased to be part of the event. Keller said it was a good opportunity for the students.

“We are grateful for the opportunity AWG provided for our students to learn more about where their food comes from and the importance of wholesaler-retailer relationships,” he said. “In our Ag Marketing Systems course we are learning about food pricing and how food is marketed to consumers. The Fresh Show gave students the opportunity to experience what we were talking about in class first-hand, ask questions to vendors, and have the opportunity to learn about food products they are unfamiliar with.”

At the conclusion of his presentation, Anderson told the students that the big treat for them that day was that they had the opportunity to join independent store owners in walking the show floor.

“There’s pizza. There are cookies, brownies – all sorts of products. Enjoy it! Go out there and don't be afraid to introduce yourself to the vendors and just ask questions.”

The students, who were properly credentialed, then joined those navigating the floor to see what’s new, speak with vendors, and sample the many products that were available for consumption. Tony Bisignano, regional business developer for PFS Brands, was among the vendors who spoke with Northeast students. He told them to take advantage of what was offered during the show.

“This is a great opportunity for the students to see all the varieties of brands and product lines offered through AWG,” he said. “I told them, ‘Dive in, eat and take samples.’ That’s the whole purpose of being here. It’s sampling and tasting and seeing all the different types of products, seeing the products and the quality of the products.”

At the end of the day, the vendors with displays in the show choose not to take all their products back with them, especially perishables. They, instead, donated their remaining products to the Northeast Community College Food Bank.

Lori Trowbridge, executive director of college engagement at Northeast, said over 125 students received boxes full of food from the vendors. The food was set up in one location, which allowed them to come in  and shop. In addition, Chartwells, Northeast’s food service provider, assisted with slicing the many whole hams available so the food could be packaged and distributed to more students.

“There was so much food, and our students were very grateful,” Trowbridge said. “One student who received a box of food commented ‘You have no idea how much this helps me.’ She is a nursing student with a small child. We’re so appreciative to AWG and the vendors for allowing the Northeast Community College Food Pantry to receive this generous donation on behalf of our students.”      



Why Grazing Before Pastures are Ready Can Have Lasting Impacts and How to Limit the Damage
Jack Arterburn, Nebraska Extension Educator, Beef Systems

Although near record snowfall this winter brought many challenges in areas of Nebraska, the moisture the snow provided was welcomed after three years of below normal precipitation. However, soil moisture is still below average and drought conditions are persisting in many areas of the state.

In the spring, plants rely on nutrients stored in the roots during previous years to initiate and sustain growth until enough leaf area is available to conduct photosynthesis. Without adequate growing season and fall moisture in previous years, nutrient storage is often limited. Not reducing grazing pressure during periods of below normal precipitation can compound this deficit and reduce production in subsequent years. Although fall and winter precipitation can recharge soil moisture levels, growing season precipitation (April to September) typically accounts for most of the total annual precipitation and is vital to plant production and rangeland health.

When feed is expensive and hard to find and feeder cattle futures are optimistic, delaying pasture turnout or destocking to reduce grazing pressure are not appealing. Especially if the available feed is low-quality and fails to meet a lactating cow’s nutrient requirements causing negative impacts to calf performance and delaying return to estrus and her ability to rebreed.

Unfortunately, not delaying turnout or destocking is robbing Peter to pay Paul by saving the cost of feeding hay at the expense of reducing pasture production and further degrading pastures. Grazing before pastures are ready causes the plants to use additional nutrients from already low root stores to recover.  If there are not enough nutrients stored in the roots, the plant may go dormant and stop growing, reducing the total annual production. In contrast, allowing pastures additional rest to build nutrient storage by delaying turnout could pay dividends in additional growth later in the year.

When pastures will be ready to graze depends on plant condition and characteristics. Plant condition results from previous grazing seasons management as well as soil moisture and soil temperature which control the start and speed of plant growth. Cool season plants are the first to break dormancy and the first to reach maturity before the hot summer months. Warm season grasses wait for soil temperatures to get above 50 degrees Fahrenheit and continue to grow during the hot months until August.

Determining if a plant is ready to graze is as simple as counting leaves. The number of collared leaves that wrap all the way around the plant stem like a shirt collar indicates whether the plant is ready to be grazed. The rule of thumb is 3 collared leaves for cool season grasses and 4 collared leaves for warm season grasses. When grasses reach these minimums, enough photosynthesis occurs to sustain growth and allow storage of nutrients which can be used to recover from grazing. Not waiting for the minimum number of leaves stresses the plant at a critical time and may reduce total annual production potential.

If grazing before pastures are ready is unavoidable, the negative impacts can be spread lightly across multiple pastures by only grazing each pasture for a few days before moving. The key is to not stay too long and only lightly grazing the fresh growth. Grazing will stress the vulnerable plants, however impacts can be limited if the plant is not grazed repeatedly and sufficient recovery time is allowed before being grazed again. As always, avoid grazing a pasture at the same time of year multiple years in a row. As a last resort, a sacrifice pasture can be designated to limit damage to a single pasture, however the negative impacts may last for many years.

Another option is to lightly graze introduced pastures, hay fields, or subirrigated areas while allowing native pastures to reach leaf minimums. Be cautious not to reduce hay production later in the year by grazing these forages too short, not providing adequate rest following grazing, and if growing season precipitation is limited.

Resist the temptation to turn cattle out before grass is ready and use caution if there is no other option. Management practices now can have lasting impacts.



Packing Small Grain Silage When It Is Too Wet Can Be a Costly Mistake
Mary Drewnoski, Nebraska Extension Beef Systems Specialist
Connor Biehler, Nebraska Extension Beef Educator
Ben Beckman, Nebraska Extension Educator

Small grains are an excellent choice as a double-cropped forage for a spring silage crop. However, making good quality small grain silage takes careful moisture management.

Recently, 17 Nebraska producers provided small grain forage samples at harvest and again after fermentation to evaluate changes in nutrient content and the quality. At harvest, 50% of the samples were within the suggested range of target dry matter for small grain silage (30 to 35% DM), 40% were too wet (< 30% DM) and the other 10% were too dry (> 40% DM). The majority (85%) of the producers stated that they had wilted the crop before packing. However, many did not wilt long enough for the forage to dry enough to achieve adequate dry matter content. The likely cause was that the forage on top of the swath began to dry out, while the forage underneath remained wet. The time needed for wilting will depend on the stage of plant maturity and weather conditions. Generally, as the plants mature, they will get drier. Weather conditions such as wind speed, temperature, and the relative humidity can affect the rate of field drying. The combination of these weather variables makes it difficult to determine how long to wilt before chopping and packing. Based on survey data, producers that wilted small grains harvested at boot, heading, or pollination stage for 16 to 24 hours appeared to be more likely to achieve targeted DM content. For later maturities in the milk or soft dough stage, less wilting (0 to 2 hours) seemed to result in desirable results.

So why all the fuss about getting the moisture content right?
Energy (TDN) loss of silage samples ranged from 0 to 17 TDN units from packing to feed out. Samples with greatest TDN loss were too wet at packing. Silage packed too wet had almost 3 times more energy loss than samples packed within the target DM (Table 1). Silage that is packed too wet can have the wrong type of fermentation, in which clostridial bacteria use the nutrients in the forage to grow and produce butyric acid. This reduces the palatability and feed value of the silage. In fact, silage that undergoes clostridial fermentation never becomes preserved and will continue to lose energy content in storage. Thus, it is better to feed the silage as quickly as possible rather than storing it for later use if it was too wet at packing.
 
Can inoculants help?
Fermentation leading to the rapid production of lactic acid results in the least amount of energy lost during fermentation. Of the silage that was packed too wet, TDN loss was 11.2 units for non-inoculated silage vs. 5.9 units for silage that was inoculated. While inoculation appeared to reduce the energy loss, there was still a 10% energy loss of the forage. For silage within the target DM range, there did not appear to be an impact of inoculation on energy loss, likely because loss was already quite low. Reaching the target DM range prior to packing is always best. However, silage inoculants can be useful insurance. There are many different silage inoculants on the market. For small grain silages, the biggest challenge is achieving a rapid drop in pH to preserve the forage. Therefore, using a homolactic acid-based inoculant is recommended.



10th Annual Youth Crop Scouting Competition Registration Open
Brandy VanDeWalle - NE Extension Educator

Looking for a fun club project? Want to unite your club members? Running out of ideas for club meetings? If you answered, “yes” to any of these questions, help is on the way. Nebraska Extension is pleased to present the 10th annual Crop Scouting Competition for Nebraska youth. Youth interested in crops can learn about crop growth and development and basic crop scouting principles.

Don’t know a lot about crops? Ask a local agronomist to assist by providing a short lesson on crop production. You can have the agronomist meet with youth a little during each meeting or outside of the meeting. This is one way to engage those youth interested in crops.

Program flyer: https://cropwatch.unl.edu/2023-CW-News/Crop-Scouting-Flyer-23.pdf  

This contest will be on Aug. 2, 2023 at the Eastern Nebraska Research Extension and Education Center near Mead, Nebraska. The event will include both indoor and outdoor events. Teams of junior high and high school students (those completing fifth to 12th grades) from across Nebraska are invited to participate. This event is limited to the first 10 teams who sign up.

Clubs or other organizations may enter a team composed of three to five participants. An adult team leader must accompany each team of students. Team leaders could be FFA advisors, crop consultants, extension staff, coop employees, etc.

Top-scoring teams win prizes: $500 for first, $250 for second, $100 for third place. Top two teams will be eligible for regional competition held in Nebraska this year on Sept. 18, 2023.

Teams will be expected to know the basics of scouting corn and soybean fields. This includes crop staging; looking for patterns of crop injury; disease, insect and weed seedling identification; etc. Other topics many include but are not limited to, pesticide safety, nutrient disorders, and herbicide injury.

More information about the crop scouting competition and instructions on how to register a team are available online on the CropWatch Youth Activities page.

Teams must be registered by Saturday, July 15. This program is sponsored by Nebraska Independent Crop Consultant Association, Ward Laboratories, the Nebraska Soybean Board and Nebraska Extension.



Iowa Farm Bureau applauds the efforts of Iowa legislative session

The Iowa Farm Bureau has long supported property taxpayers, and its members thank the Iowa Legislature and Governor Reynolds for enacting property tax reform and protections in 2023.  The legislation places growth limitations on local governments, helping to slow the future growth of property taxes.  Additionally, the legislature continued its commitment to current property taxpayer protections, including state appropriations for property tax credits and property tax replacement payments.    

Farm Bureau members appreciate the legislature’s action to update the state veterinary practice code and the expansion of scope of practice for veterinary technicians.  The veterinarian access bill will authorize veterinary technicians to perform expanded practices for livestock medical care, providing additional resources for Iowa farmers caring for livestock.  

Iowa Farm Bureau would also like to thank the legislature for being a continued partner in water quality progress.  The legislature continued its funding commitment to long-term, dedicated funding for proven water quality and conservation practices, including funding for SF512 and appropriations for the Conservation Cost Share Program and Water Quality Initiative in the Ag and Natural Resources Budget and Rebuild Iowa Infrastructure Fund (RIIF).



Naig Comments on the Conclusion of the 2023 Iowa Legislative Session

Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig released the following statement today after the Iowa General Assembly concluded their work for the 2023 legislative session:

“I want to commend Governor Reynolds and the Legislature for continuing to enact a positive agenda that sets Iowa up for future growth and success. All Iowans, as well as communities big and small, benefit from a strong agriculture. As we mark the 10-year anniversary of the Iowa Nutrient Reduction Strategy, I’m pleased to see a continued investment in water quality and conservation programs that will further accelerate the adoption of innovative and proven practices. Funding the completion of the Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory at Iowa State University and dedicating additional resources for foreign animal disease preparedness and response will protect our critically important livestock industry. Consumers benefit from ongoing support for the Choose Iowa program, the Renewable Fuels Infrastructure Program, additional meat processing capacity, and the newly created Dairy Innovation Fund, all of which will enhance the availability of Iowa products. With key investments in these and many other important priorities for agriculture, we are ensuring that Iowa’s #1 industry can thrive and remain productive for years to come.”



Studying What Influences Students to Return to Family Farm

What factors influence a student’s decision to return to the family farm following college graduation? That is what students in Katie Dentzman’s sociology class sought to find out this semester.

Dentzman, assistant professor of sociology and criminal justice, typically has students in her SOC 350: Women in Agriculture and the Food System class create a set of survey questions surrounding a topic of their choice, employing survey creation concepts they’ve learned in class. This semester, however, a common theme surfaced among the students’ proposed surveys – what factors influence students’ decision to return to their family farm or seek off-farm employment?

Rather than evaluating each survey individually, the students combined and analyzed all their data.

“It was a lot of fun to see the small trends having significant impacts on the data,” Dentzman said.

Each student chose a different area to focus their questions on. These included how things like the farm size, the number of siblings a student has, the marital status of the student’s parents, and what major the student was studying impact their intention to return to a family farm.

“There’s not a lot of data out there on diverse farmers, so it was neat to be able to identify gaps in the existing research and come up with survey questions to help fill in those holes,” said Lydia Moses, senior in agronomy.

Once the students had narrowed down their questions, they randomly selected junior- and senior-classified students from College of Agriculture and Life Sciences academic departments. A total of 69 students submitted responses to the surveys.

Based on the survey results, the students found that 41% of students from a family farm were either “definitely not” or “probably not” going to return to the farm after college graduation. Further, 21% were unsure if they would return, and 38% reported they would “probably yes” or “definitely yes” return to the farm.



March Pork Exports Largest in Nearly Two Years; Beef Exports Show Signs of Rebound

March exports of U.S. pork were the largest since May 2021, according to data released by USDA and compiled by the U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF). While below last year’s high volume, March beef exports were the largest since October.

Mexico is the pacesetter, but pork exports strengthen in several regions
March pork exports totaled 260,195 metric tons (mt), up 17% year-over-year and the ninth largest volume on record. Export value was also ninth largest at $724 million, up 18% from a year ago. These results capped a strong first quarter for U.S. pork as exports reached 716,691 mt, up 14% from a year ago, valued at $1.96 billion (up 15%).

For Mexico, March pork exports were the second largest on record, while shipments to the Dominican Republic and Malaysia were record-large. Exports also increased to South Korea, Japan, China/Hong Kong, the Philippines, Australia and Taiwan.

“It’s great to see U.S. pork exports continue to expand in many of our Western Hemisphere markets, but there is also notable momentum in the Asia Pacific,” said USMEF President and CEO Dan Halstrom. “With consumer activity in the region rebounding toward pre-COVID levels and U.S. pork very competitively priced compared to European product, 2023 holds excellent potential for broad-based growth.”

Beef exports improving after slow start to the year
Beef exports totaled 120,495 mt in March, down 5% from a year ago. Export value fell 17% to $892.6 million, but both volume and value were the highest in five months. Through the first quarter, beef exports were down 8% year-over-year to 326,494 mt, valued at $2.35 billion (down 22%).

March beef exports to Mexico were well above last year, while export growth to the Caribbean was highlighted by a record month for the Dominican Republic. Exports also increased year-over-year to the Philippines, while beef variety meat demand strengthened in South Africa and Peru. March exports to South Korea were below last year but were the largest in 10 months, while exports to China/Hong Kong were the largest since October.

“U.S. beef exports faced considerable headwinds late last year and at the beginning of 2023, but the March results show some encouraging trends,” Halstrom said. “Most Asian markets showed renewed momentum in March, while exports continued to trend higher to Mexico, the Caribbean and South Africa.”

March lamb export volume lower, but value increases
March exports of U.S. lamb muscle cuts totaled 218 mt, down 5% from a year ago, but export value still climbed 11% higher to $1.4 million. First quarter exports increased 35% to 664 mt, valued at $3.7 million (up 23%). First quarter lamb exports to Mexico were the largest since 2017, while exports also increased to the Netherlands Antilles, the Bahamas, Guatemala and Taiwan.



USDA Dairy Products March 2023 Highlights

Total cheese output (excluding cottage cheese) was 1.23 billion pounds, 0.2 percent below March 2022 but 11.7 percent above February 2023. Italian type cheese production totaled 512 million pounds, 1.5 percent below March 2022 but 11.5 percent above February 2023. American type cheese production totaled 499 million pounds, 3.2 percent above March 2022 and 12.5 percent above February 2023. Butter production was 205 million pounds, 1.4 percent above March 2022 and 9.5 percent above February 2023.

Dry milk products (comparisons in percentage with March 2022)
Nonfat dry milk, human - 200 million pounds, up 4.4 percent.
Skim milk powder - 36.0 million pounds, down 16.1 percent.

Whey products (comparisons in percentage with March 2022)
Dry whey, total - 78.0 million pounds, up 0.3 percent.
Lactose, human and animal - 95.7 million pounds, up 2.3 percent.
Whey protein concentrate, total - 41.4 million pounds, up 12.7 percent.

Frozen products (comparisons in percentage with March 2022)
Ice cream, regular (hard) - 66.4 million gallons, up 0.2 percent.
Ice cream, lowfat (total) - 37.9 million gallons, down 11.3 percent.
Sherbet (hard) - 2.09 million gallons, down 20.2 percent.
Frozen yogurt (total) - 3.20 million gallons, down 21.2 percent.



USTR Meets with Indo-Pacific Economic Framework Countries
 
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative this week held meetings with trade officials from several of the countries that are part of the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity.
 
The IPEF, which includes Australia, Brunei, Fiji, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand, United States and Vietnam, is a U.S.-led initiative to forge closer ties with nations in the Asia-Pacific region. Talks are focused on supply chains; clean energy, decarbonization and infrastructure; tax and anti-corruption; and trade.
 
USTR Ambassador Katherine Tai held virtual meetings with Australian Minister for Trade and Tourism Don Farrell, New Zealand Minister for Trade and Export Growth Damien O’Connor and Singapore Permanent Secretary for Trade and Industry Gabriel Lim. She met in person with Ashok Kumar Mirpuri, Singapore’s ambassador to the United States.
 
Deputy USTR Sarah Bianchi met virtually with Fiji Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for External Trade Monoa Kamikamica, Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs Senior Deputy Minister Ono Keiichi and Malaysian Deputy Minister of Investment, Trade and Industry Liew Chin Tong.
 
The 14 countries in the IPEF have about 60% of the world’s population and represent 40% percent of global GDP and 28% of the world’s trade in goods and services.



United States and Philippines Cooperation Highlighted at U.S.-Philippines Food Security Dialogue

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) today hosted a high-level Food Security Dialogue with the Philippines Department of Agriculture that showcased critical bilateral efforts to address global food security and climate change.

USDA Under Secretary for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs Alexis M. Taylor and Philippines Department of Agriculture Under Secretary for Policy, Planning, and Regulations Mercedita Sombilla chaired an interagency meeting with representatives from the U.S. State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). The dialogue highlighted partnerships and programming that support food security in the Philippines and promote international endeavors to reduce the impact of climate change.

Under Secretary Taylor unveiled two new efforts to further U.S.-Philippine cooperation:
    USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service will launch a new Faculty Exchange Program between leading U.S. and Philippine universities to advance collaboration on veterinary sciences, which includes addressing sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) issues and technical barriers to trade.
    The U.S. Department of Commerce is co-sponsoring an AgTech trade mission to Davao City and Manila, Philippines, with the Business Council for International Understanding later this year. The mission will focus on agrichemicals and fertilizers, digital and precision agriculture, cold chain facilities, aquaculture, and other industry sectors.

“The United States and the Philippines have a long history of cooperation and partnership in identifying and implementing solutions to help tackle challenges impacting our citizens, our countries, and the world,” said Under Secretary Taylor. “The potential impacts of food insecurity and climate change elevate the urgency of our continued collaboration and I’m pleased that the United States has such a strong and committed partner in the Philippines as we seek to ensure a more resilient future for generations to come.”

After the meeting, the members of the delegation travelled to USDA’s Beltsville Agricultural Research Center to explore biotechnology research intended to improve productivity in the face of a changing climate.

The Dialogue explored several ongoing U.S. projects in the Philippines that enhance food security, including:
    The Building Safe Agricultural Food Enterprises program, which supports food safety regulators in the Philippines to meet SPS standards and manage food safety risk in advance of exporting food;
    The Philippine Coffee Advancement and Farm Enterprise project, which supports capacity building in the Philippine coffee industry;
    The FAS-Agricultural Research Service project on “Applying gene-editing technology to improve viral disease resistance and insect tolerance in tomato” through a Material Transfer Research Agreement, which supports cooperation between USDA and the Philippine Crop Biotechnology Center to develop gene-edited tomatoes;
    USAID’s DELIVER-E Initiative, which launched digital platforms that connect farmers to buyers and has moved 422 tons of fresh produce valued at $700,000, enabling nearly 600 farmers to double their income and medium-sized enterprises to achieve a six-fold increase in their profit margins;
    USAID RESPOND, in partnership with the American Chamber of Commerce Philippines, which has pursued reforms that will lower tariffs on critical meat products and inputs, pushed legislation that enabled land reform and has helped remove national restrictions on corn and rice production;
    USAID supports capacity building activities of Philippine agriculture cooperatives to facilitate their participation in domestic and global value chains; and,
    USAID’s partnership with the Philippines under the U.S. Government Global Water Strategy, which will improve the country’s long-term water security and help further its food security and agricultural trade efforts.

The United States and the Philippines are also active participants in a series of global efforts to combat climate change, including the Sustainable Productivity Growth Coalition, Agriculture Innovation Mission (AIM) for Climate, the Global Methane Pledge, and the Climate and Clean Air Coalition. Under Secretary Sombilla will also participate in the upcoming AIM for Climate Ministerial, May 8-10, in Washington.