Weslaco is located in the so called “Rio Grande Valley”. RGV is 60-80% Hispanic population depending on which city you live in and in general is culturally vibrant. We are also home to lots of winter-Texans/retirement community and migratory birds and butterflies. Weslaco is in the mid-valley, between decently larger cities ~15 miles to the East (Harlingen) and West (McAllen and Edinburg). Also, city of Brownsville and South Padre Island (beach) are closer (~40 miles East of Weslaco) and some other small cities to the West. You won’t see the cities end as you drive West to East, as the entire region is a growing economic zone owing to the extended border and trade happening with Mexico. City of Pharr international bridge handles the largest trade imports coming from Mexico in the entire U.S, rivaling California and Arizona.  As such, the climate here is tropical to sub-tropical, with mixture of urban and rural occupations. Texas A&M AgriLife Research-Weslaco is strategically located in the mid-valley, and together with our partners, UT-RGV, TAMU-Kingsville, TAMU-McAllen, we are addressing key agronomic, health and socio-economic issues that we face in Texas and in the valley, including dealing with rare emerging vector-borne diseases of plants, animals and humans (citrus greening, West Nile, Zika etc). That is why we do both fundamental science and translational research (biotech and crop improvement).