Climatologists report that the global weather phenomenon called
La Nina has been intensifying. La Nina is characterized by a
massive reduction of the water temperature from the eastern
Pacific to Australia. It's the opposite of El Nino, which is the
warming of water in the same area.  Last year's El Nino had
little impact on global soybean and oilseed supplies. But the
current outlook suggests an increased potential for weather
problems and lower yields in South America (Argentina
specifically) during this winter growing season and possibly in
the U.S. this summer.  November and December weather reports
from Brazil and Argentina suggest an average or slightly better-
than-average crop for our competitors in South America. It's not
the weather during November and December - which are the
equivalent of May and June in the U.S. - that determines yield,
though. It's the weather in January through March that
determines the size of the South American soybean crop.  During
the last 25 years, La Nina has had minimal i