the majority of its Gulf of Mexico production -- and removing all workers on them. The Gulf of Mexico produces about 25 percent of U.S. oil and gas. Arlene's rainfall was welcomed in much of Cuba as relief from the longest drought in a century. The storm also dumped 4.5 inches (11 cm) of rain on the tobacco-growing province of Pinar del Rio, which grows the leaves for Cuba's fine cigars. The U.S. Agriculture Department said Arlene could carry soybean rust spores into farm fields as far north as southern Indiana. Confirmed so far this year in four Florida counties, the fungus characterized by reddish pustules withers a soybean plant and can slash crop yield by up to 80 percent. --SP 0018 Local Time 2118 GMT
