Currently, Britain’s farmers receive subsidies and income support through the European Union’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).

However, the organisation said that the current funding regime is flawed, due to its limited emphasis on protecting nature and its funding award system based on the amount of land owned.

"Unless we make different choices, we will leave an environment that is less productive, less rich and less beautiful than that which we inherited," said the National Trust's Director-General, Dame Helen Ghosh.

"Taxpayers should only pay public subsidy to farmers in return for things that the market won’t pay for but are valued and needed by the public."

The Trust said this includes wildlife, plants, soils and flood protection.

In response, the National Farmers Union (NFU) President Meurig Raymond said: “The picture the National Trust is trying to paint - that of a damaged countryside - is one that neither I nor most farmers, or visitors to the countryside, will recognise.

“In this debate we must not forget that food production is vital. We should not be contemplating doing anything which will undermine British farming’s competitiveness or its ability to produce food.

"To do so would risk exporting food production out of Britain and for Britain to be a nation which relies even further on imports to feed itself."

Writing on the National Pig Association website, Alistair Driver said the debate around CAP had not been important for the pig sector in the past, as it is historically unsupported, even though many pig farmers are involved in other sectors.

However, he added: "Some of the ideas for how future support could be paid could be of real interest - grants for new facilities, welfare payments and insurance schemes linked to market volatility and extreme weather etc have all been aired."