Representative body Meat Industry Ireland (MII) has withdrawn from a new round of talks aimed at resolving the beef dispute.
It said this was because of continued protests and blockades at processing plants.
It is part of an ongoing row with meat factories over beef prices.
Farmers held protests outside supermarket distribution centres around the country on Sunday.
MII said it arrived on Monday for talks to resolve the beef sector dispute.
But it added: "This morning, some 20 plants representing 80% of processing capacity remain blockaded.
"During an initial engagement with the independent chair and government officials, MII communicated that protestors had failed to step back from factory gate blockades and had instead intensified these illegal blockades.
"MII requested the minister and independent chairman to use their best endeavours to have blockades lifted to enable talks.
"The MII delegation adjourned its participation in the talks until all illegal blockades are lifted."
In a statement, MII also expressed frustration at the refusal of protestors to respond to Agriculture Minister Michael Creed's call to step back from blockading and to observe the norms that apply in talks aimed at resolving disputes.
MII says its member companies have given an undertaking that legal actions will be deferred to allow talks to proceed.
"The extent of the continued illegal blockading has placed factory employees in peril of layoffs and prevented beef farmers from having their factory ready cattle processed.
"Furthermore, the blockades have put in jeopardy national and international customers of Irish beef", MII said.
Separately, the Irish Farmers Association (IFA) has said that the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) "put no impediment" to cattle prices being discussed at the beef crisis talks on Monday.
IFA President Joe Healy led a delegation with National Livestock Chairman Angus Woods to meet with the CCPC in Dublin on Friday.
He said the CCPC confirmed to the IFA that they were not involved in any discussions around the parameters or pre-conditions for the beef talks and they did not, and would not, put any impediment in the way of prices being discussed at the talks.
"Our own legal advice is that under current EU and Irish legislation, prices can be discussed at the meeting," Mr Healy said.
"We made it very clear at the round of talks last month that price had to be part of the discussions.
"When we attend the talks this afternoon, we will be making price an issue. Farmers cannot survive at prices below the cost of production".
Main image: File photo shows a group of independent farmers protesting at the Dawn Meats plant at Grannagh on the Waterford/ Kilkenny border | Image: Eamonn Farrell/RollingNews.ie
