A meeting between the Irish Sugar company and the Irish Farmers Association later today in Abbeyleix is likely to determine the future of the Mallow sugar factory.
The beet growers and Greencore, which controls Irish Sugar, have been playing a cat-and-mouse game with each other for the past month on whether or not a crop will be grown this year.
The company made an offer to farmers saying it had to be accepted by yesterday. Some of the 3,700 growers decided to ignore the questionnaire.
The farmers were mostly from the midlands and their main concern was that if they did not grow beet this year, they would be excluded from EU compensation.
These growers, former suppliers to the Carlow plant which was closed down 12 months ago, had decided much earlier in the year that they wanted compensation because they could not afford to grow and deliver to Mallow.
However, they were reluctant to surrender their beet quota to Munster growers who would be able to supply Mallow and still make a profit.
Minister for Agriculture and Food Mary Coughlan gave an assurance to the Irish Farmers Association late on Tuesday that farmers who did not grow beet this year would still be entitled to compensation from both the EU's restructuring and diversification funds.
She confirmed to IFA president Pádraig Walshe that those who grew the crop in 2004 would be eligible for compensation.
Following the meeting, Mr Walshe said this decision had removed a major obstacle to planting the 2006 crop.
Mr Walshe said he was requesting Greencore to immediately clarify its intentions to growers in light of the minister's decision.
It is still unclear if many of the Munster farmers will want to grow the crop at the price which is being offered by Greencore. It is also unclear just how many farmers responded to the Greencore request to tell them if they wanted to grow.
If the Mallow factory is to close, €145 million in EU compensation is on offer. Already the IFA and Greencore are disputing who should get the most of this sum.
The IFA has claimed it is entitled to €106 million and Greencore has said it is entitled to the money minus the percentages laid out in the new EU sugar agreement.