In a survey on rural tourism, 50 per cent of farmers said they would not be willing to participate in a walking scheme even if they could be indemnified against claims and no permanent right of way would be established.
Of the 49 per cent who said they would participate, 21 per cent said they would take part for free. Dairy and tillage farmers were least in favour, while sheep farmers and those with marginal land were most in favour.
Of those who would not take part, 8 per cent cited the possibility of litigation but 73 per cent said walkers "would be a nuisance to farm activity".
The figures were presented at a national conference on rural development in Galway. The conference was told major changes were taking place in rural Ireland.
The head of the Teagasc rural economy research centre, Cathal O'Donoghue, said: "High house prices and other factors such as improved transportation links have resulted in new settlement patterns which mean that rural areas are increasingly becoming part of urban hinterlands, resulting in different land use and ensuing environmental impacts."
He added: "Evidence is beginning to emerge that for some rural residents, especially the elderly and those with special needs, social exclusion, lack of access to services and isolation from the communities they inhabit are becoming increasing problems."
The head of Teagasc rural development advisory services, Gerry Scully, said there were a growing number of farmers under 40 who had not worked full-time on farms like the older generation but whose first work experience was off-farm.
These younger farmers had a different mindset and they tended to put a value on time and being paid by the hour and this in turn set an expectation on how much money should be earned from their farms.
He said a typical week for such a farmer was 40 hours working off-farm and a further 15 hours of farming and such a workload was deemed not to be sustainable by many in this group.
Mr Scully called for less reliance on construction for off-farm jobs and said farmers needed to diversify and look at new opportunities.