Around 20 members of the Irish Farmers' Association (IFA) are protesting outside the offices of Bord Bia in Dublin against a decision not to remove Bord Bia Chairman Larry Murrin from his role and said they will remain in place "as long as it takes".
It follows news last week that Mr Murrin's company Dawn Farms has been using some Brazilian beef in its meat products.
Farming groups - including the IFA and the group representing dairy farmers, the ICMSA - claim the situation creates a conflict of interest for Mr Murrin, given Bord Bia's role in promoting Irish food, and that he should step down.
An emergency meeting of the board of Bord Bia - called for by IFA President Francie Gorman who is also a member of the board - was held on Thursday to discuss the matter, after which the board decided to support Mr Murrin to continue as chairman.
Agriculture Minister Martin Heydon has also said Larry Murrin has his "full confidence".
Speaking on RTÉ's Today with David McCullough, Mr Heydon said many Irish food companies require a twin production capacity and that this is the case with Dawn Farms.
We have to remember that we export 90% of the food and drink we produce, he said, and that no Irish company will be able to do a deal with an international company that sources all of its meat from one area.
Meanwhile, a senior Government source told RTÉ News that it is "reiterating its call for the IFA to take up the offer of Larry Murrin to meet with their county chairpersons so they can hear the full facts".
They added that "it is disappointing to see this protest, given Government support of farmers in achieving a renewal of the Nitrates Derogation for them and supporting them on Mercosur".
They added they believe the public "will rapidly lose their patience with them" and that Mr Murrin "has done nothing wrong".
'We need to put a new chairman in place'
IFA President Francie Gorman said his members will maintain their protest "until we get a resolution to this situation, which means the chairman has to be removed".
"We need to put a new chairman in place, get down to discussing the issues that were discussed last week at the board meeting, including the chairman's position, and by doing so we’ll restore the credibility of Bord Bia.
"The longer this goes on the worse it’s going to be for Bord Bia and the wider industry."
When asked if there is a possible compromise that could be reached between the IFA and Bord Bia and the Department of Agriculture that would see Larry Murrin stay in place as chairman, Mr Gorman said "if there was a compromise we wouldn’t be here today. To be clear, the chairman has to go and the sooner the better".
Mr Gorman said he did not take up the offer to meet Mr Murrin "on the grounds that it would only inflame matters".
"The fact is he has confirmed that his company is using Brazilian beef. This is the issue farmers have - not the reasons for it, or where or when, or how much," Mr Gorman added.
Meanwhile, the group representing dairy farmers - the ICMSA - said that while its position is unchanged on seeking Mr Murrin’s removal as chairman, "everybody needs to take a breath and begin resolving the current impasse".
ICMSA President Denis Drennan said he is "calling on Minister Heydon to arrange a meeting between the farm organisations and Bord Bia as soon as possible and work through the issues towards restoring farmer confidence in Bord Bia".
"We know that there are systemic defects in labelling and consumer information at point-of-sales that this incident has very clearly highlighted."
Mr Drennan added that "if we ever had the luxury of weeks and months to allow this to work itself out, then we certainly don’t have it after last weekend and the Bluetongue outbreak".
Following last week's board meeting, Mr Murrin told RTÉ News he expects to remain in the position and described the meeting as constructive.
