The Country Land and Business Association (CLA) has hit out at UKIP for their plans to take UK agriculture out of Europe and the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) branding it “unrealisic and uncosted.”

Speaking at Blenheim Palace at the CLA’s gamefair, CLA Deputy President Ross Murray clashed with UKIP leader Nigel Farage during a debate on whether the countryside would be better off if we left the EU.

Accusing him of promoting a ‘little England’ approach, the pair clashed over whether payments should be restricted to farms under a certain size, or capping.

“There is no logic to capping,” he said. “We have the most efficient farming industry in Europe and part of that comes with scale.”

Mr Murray told an audience of more than 300 that British farmers could survive without support from Europe is a fallacy.

“If we opt out of the EU our exports will be cut to shreds and we will be completely at the mercy of the supermarkets who will always buy on price. Quite simply, we will not be able to compete against other farmers in Europe who will still be receiving public funds.”

The value of being in Europe, he said, amounted to 25 billion Euros over the next seven years which came, not just in the form of direct payments to farming, but also as investment in the wider rural economy.

He said: “All power to the Government if they can reform the EU – that would have my total support – but my head tells me that we are better off sticking with a European framework of support for the countryside – at least for the time being.”

Mr Farage said: “We should run our own country and run our own agriculture; there will be a referendum in the next few years and you’ll have your say in it.

“The effects of leaving the EU in the short term would be negligible, but in the long term there is a big benefit to us being outside the EU. We can get the Great British public onside and interested in farming and understand what we are doing – currently the debate on agriculture has reached an all-time low.”

The debate was chaired by Charlie Brooks and also featured the Chairman of the Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust Ian Coghill, and former Telegraph countryside reporter Robin Page.