Members of the Irish Farmers' Association (IFA) have ended their sit-in protest at Bord Bia, after the State agency’s board agreed to an independent expert-led governance review into its operations.
Larry Murrin will stand aside from chairing board meetings for the duration of the review.
However, according to Bord Bia, Mr Murrin will remain as chair of the state agency.
A statement from the board said "in the interests of moving forward, the board and the chair have agreed that these meetings will be facilitated by another current Board member".
The agreement follows an IFA proposal to examine the state agency's board-membership eligibility, as well as its various quality-assurance schemes.
The IFA had been protesting outside Bord Bia's offices in Dublin for over a month, while five IFA members staged a sit-in protest inside the reception area of the building for four weeks.
The dispute started after it emerged Mr Murrin's company Dawn Farms had been importing some Brazilian beef for use in its products.
Farming organisations had called on him to step down over the issue - claiming it created a conflict of interest - given the state agency's role in promoting Irish food.
In a statement this evening, Minister for Agriculture Martin Heydon welcomed the agreement.
He said: "I am pleased that my proposal for an independent governance review of the board of Bord Bia has been accepted and that the ongoing protest has been stood down.
"Larry Murrin will remain as chair of Bord Bia and as agreed by the board and the chair in the interests of moving forward, during the period of the review scheduled board meetings will be facilitated by another current board member."
'Agreed to stand down'
IFA President Francie Gorman said it had put a proposal to the board of Bord Bia "ten days ago that identified seven strands that should be examined and that the chair would step aside while these are being considered. This was the basis of today's outcome".
He added the IFA "has agreed to stand down their protest until the review is complete and while Larry Murrin is not chairing board meetings. Five farmers have occupied the building for 28 days with a rolling 24-hour protest outside for 36 days".
"These farmers are heroes. They have sacrificed so much for their fellow farmers as have those who have kept a 24-hour rolling protest going outside," Mr Gorman said.
Meanwhile, the group representing dairy farmers, the ICMSA, welcomed the agreement.
ICMSA President Denis Drennan said now "focus must turn immediately to hugely important matters like CAP, bovine TB, and especially the current collapse of milk prices".
Saturday protest
Earlier, Minister Heydon had accused the leadership of the IFA of deliberately misleading its members in relation to its dispute with Bord Bia.
On Saturday, around 1,500 people attended an IFA protest outside the minister's constituency office in Newbridge, Co Kildare, during which damage was done to signage at the office.
Afterwards, Mr Heydon described the IFA's stance on the Bord Bia dispute as "reckless" and said it "led to a situation where damage is being inflicted on my constituency office".
"This is not something you normally associate with IFA protests," the minister added.
Mr Heydon has filed a complaint with gardaí in relation to the incident.
In response, the IFA said it is "aware that two signs outside the Minister's office were damaged" during the protest and that the organisation contacted his office "to make them aware of this and to say we would replace them".
Earlier this month, Mr Murrin defended his company's use of Brazilian beef in front of the Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture.
Mr Murrin said a requirement of Dawn Farms' contracts to supply cooked meats to international brands involves demonstrating an ability to source "beef or any other raw material from different sources" that can be used in the event of a supply disruption anywhere in Europe.
