The Irish Farmers' Association's governing body will meet later today to decide on the controversial structural reforms which have been recommended to the organisation.
The reorganisation package was drawn up for the IFA by the former secretary general of the Department of Agriculture and Food, Michael Dowling, and was published last year.
However, the major changes proposed in the Dowling report shocked the 80,000-strong organisation, which has been using the same structures for the past 50 years.
The package had the full backing of IFA president John Dillon who had adopted an all-or-nothing stance on the reforms that would see crucial changes in the administrative and voting structures.
However, Mr Dillon, who had pledged to speak to each of the IFA's county organisations on the controversial issues, was injured in a farm accident and this delayed progress.
During the intervening months, Mr Dillon seems to have eased a major difficulty with the youth farm organisation, Macra na Feirme, which had been angered by a proposal that it have a reduced role in the IFA and that a rival young farmers' group be established.
Discussions with Macra na Feirme, which was very vocal in its opposition to the reform, appear to have eased the difficulties which Mr Dillon may face later today at a meeting in IFA headquarters in Dublin.
Another issue to be discussed will be the proposed abolition of the post of deputy president of the IFA. There has been some high-level opposition to this proposal, especially as this is an IFA election year and some of the candidates will be looking at their long-term prospects in the organisation.
Mr Dowling has also proposed a much tighter head office structure where a number of commodity committees being serviced by full-time officials would be amalgamated or abolished.
There is also a proposal to reduce the number of county associations.