HEAVY SIGNUP SEEN IN 1987 CORN PROGRAM - USDA

  With less than a week remaining to
  enroll in the 1987 feedgrains program, Agriculture Department
  officials said that final signup will probably exceed last
  year's level of 85 pct.
      Enrollment in USDA's basic acreage reduction program will
  likely total close to 90 pct, Agricultural Stabilization and
  Conservation Service, ASCS, officials said, with 50 to 70 pct
  of the enrolling farmers also expected to sign up for the paid
  land diversion program.
      The signup period of the 1987 feedgrains program officially
  ends at the close of the business day on March 30.
      USDA will release its official signup report around April
  15, an official said.
      USDA personnel in the corn belt states of Iowa, Illinois,
  and Indiana have been reporting heavy signup activity, an ASCS
  official told Reuters.
      A surge of acitivity is expected during this final week of
  signup, the official said.
      "A lot of farmers have been dragging their feet because
  they were anticipating some changes in the program, but that
  doesn't look very likely now," he said.
      To enroll in the 1987 feedgrains program, farmers have to
  set aside 20 pct of the program acreage base, and have the
  option to idle an additional 15 pct under a paid land diversion
  program.
  

