DASNR
International
Student of the Week
Home Country:
Mexico
Mexico: The United Mexican States is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bounded on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the North Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of Mexico. The United Mexican States comprise a federation of thirty-one states and a federal district, the capital Mexico City, which is one of the world's most populous cities.
Covering almost 2 million square kilometers, Mexico is the fifth-largest country in the Americas by total area and the 14th largest in the world. With an estimated population of 109 million, it is the 11th most populous country and the most populous Spanish-speaking country in the world.
As a regional power and the only Latin American member of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) since 1994, Mexico is firmly established as an upper middle-income country.
Mexico is the 12th largest economy in the world by gross domestic product (GDP), on par with countries like Canada and Spain, even though income inequality is still high. The economy is strongly linked to those of its North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) partners. Elections held in July 2000 marked the first time that an opposition party won the presidency from the Institutional Revolutionary Party (Partido Revolucionario Institucional: PRI) which had held it since 1929, culminating the political alternation at the federal level, which had begun at the local level during the 1980s.
Agriculture's contribution to GDP fell from 15.1% in 1960 to 10.7% in 1970 and 4% in 2001—yet agriculture employs about 22% of the labor force. Only about 13% of Mexico's total land area is suitable for cultivation, and only 6% is cultivated with permanent crops; over 6.5 million hectares (16 million acres) are irrigated.
In 1960, Mexico became self-sufficient for the first time in corn; it continues to be self-sufficient in beans, rice, sugar, and most fruits and vegetables and fluctuates between being either a net importer or self-sufficient with wheat and corn. The government continues to protect agriculture and to ensure domestic consumption through import and export duties and controls. The government supports the prices of corn, wheat, beans, and fresh eggs and then sells these and other farm products at minimal prices through retail stores operated by the National Corporation for Public Subsidies.
In 1999, the principal crops' production totals (in tons) were as follows: sugarcane, 46,000,000; corn, 18,324,000; sorghum, 6,297,000; wheat, 3,072,000; dry beans, 1,085,000; soybeans, 132,000; rice, 399,000; and barley, 469,000. Principal exports are coffee, cotton, fresh fruit, sugar, tobacco, and tomatoes. In 2001, the value of agricultural exports amounted to $7,631 million, with tomato exports $540.8 million. (Source: Wikipedia)
Leonardo Carlos Valdez
August 2008
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From the Department of Animal Science...
This week’s international student of the week is Leronardo Carlos Valdez. He is a Ph.D student in the department of Animal Science. Leonardo was born in Zacatecas, a State in the North Central part of Mexico, he speaks Spanish and English.
Above, Leonardo, his son, his brother, and his nephew Leonardo is a member of the Mexican Association of Sheep Breeders. He is a Veterinarian from the Universidad Autonoma de Zacatecas. He is a professor at the “Universidad Autonoma de Chihuahua (UACH)”. He came to USA because OSU has a cooperative project with UACH. This project allows professor of UACH to come to OSU to finish their Ph.D and do research, reciprocally OSU professors have gone to Chihuahua to teach summer classes in the doctoral program. This project has been supported by International Agricultural Programs. Leonardo’s research is related to the effects on animal growth, immune function, gene expression in lung, muscles, and fat associated to bovine respiratory diseases.
Leonardo's son Leonardo likes running, biking, and hiking in his free time. He also likes watching scientific TV programs and wildlife documentaries. He enjoys going to concerts and listening to music. Leonardo came to the USA to increase knowledge in his research field to be a better qualified professor in Chihuahua, he also came to learn English and be exposed to another culture. He chose OSU because he noticed that the Animal Science department works in collaboration with the Vet. College, being himself a Veterinarian this looked attractive. He also knew that the Animal Science Department has one of the top programs in Animal Nutrition and the Vet School is the best in USA.
Leonardo at the Illinois River Leonardo came from a family of 8 children, four boys and four girls. Only Leonardo and one of his sisters have a college degree. Leonardo is the parent of a boy seven years old boy, Ivan M. Carlos-Rodriguez, who is living in Chihuahua. Both Leonardo’s parents are alive and they go back and forth from Mexico to California every year. Leonardo’s future plan is to go back to Chihuahua and continue his teaching-research activities. Advisor: Dr. Clint Krehbiel Leonardo's advice to students: “Come on over, do not be afraid to get in a new adventure. It is hard at the beginning but eventually things will get better.”
Interview by Sandra Rodriguez
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