State pesticide officials have been unable to reach a settlement with a tomato producer accused of spraying its workers with toxic chemicals. Barring an 11th-hour agreement, the case will be heard before the state Pesticide Board on March 28, state agriculture officials announced Monday.

Ag-Mart, a Florida company that grows grape tomatoes on about 1,100 acres in North Carolina, was charged in October with 369 violations of state pesticide law.

Investigators with the state Department of Agriculture said the company allowed people to work in freshly sprayed fields, sprayed pesticides more often than allowed by law and, in at least on case, sprayed fields while workers were in them.

The company also failed to train workers who handled pesticides or provide them proper safety equipment, the state's notice of violation says.

The state asked for a penalty of $184,500, the biggest fine in North Carolina history.

Ag-Mart officials deny breaking pesticide laws and say the violations are a misunderstanding.

In the five months since the violations were issued, state agriculture officials have been trying unsuccessfully to negotiate a settlement with the company, which has farms in Brunswick and Pender counties. They say they have not received an acceptable offer from the company.

Scheduling a hearing is "a way of moving to the next step," Department of Agriculture attorney David McLeod said Monday. But he said it's still possible the state will settle with Ag-Mart and avoid a hearing, which is similar to a trial.

"I'm sure there will be offers and counteroffers all along," McLeod said.