Exclusive:British farming will 'totally unrecognisable' if agricultural inheritance tax relief is scrapped in Budget

Ms Reeves has confirmed she will change the fiscal rules in Wednesday’s Budget to fund more public spending.

She also expected to announce tax rises around capital gains tax, employer national insurance contributions and potentially inheritance tax.

Speculation has mounted that Ms Reeves may scrap or cap agricultural property relief (APR) and business property relief (BPR), which protect farmers when handing down their land to the next generation.

The Country Land and Business Association has urged farmers to write to their MPs ahead of the Budget saying “do not betray us” over APR.

Mr Hollinrake, who is also the MP for Thirsk and Malton, said: “If that’s changed, British farming will be totally unrecognisable.

“All those intergenerational farmers that we’re so proud of, that are part of our communities, are no longer going to be farmers.” 

Mr Hollinrake, whose father was a hill farmer near Easingwold, said British would turn into “megafarms and production will drop - that’s the reality”.

The CLA says that for an average family farm of 215 acres, without such reliefs, 40 per cent of the farm’s land would need to be sold to fund inheritance tax liabilities.

President Victoria Vyvyan said: “If the government rips the rug from under hard-working farmers by removing these reliefs, it would be a catastrophic betrayal.

“In many cases it would be the end of the family farm and a hollowing out of rural communities, stifling rural entrepreneurialism.

“For generations, people who own land have considered themselves temporary custodians, to pass it on to those who will follow. 

“It inspires long-term thinking like tree planting and stewardship and a quiet acceptance that those who make the decisions will never see the fruits of their labours. If these reliefs are scrapped, it will upend it all.”

In a wide-ranging interview with the Yorkshire Post, Mr Hollinrake admitted the Conservatives had made “mistakes” with agriculture policy.

He said that “with hindsight there could have been some protections put in there for UK farming” in controversial trade deals with Australia and New Zealand.

However, he maintained that British farmers were happier under a Conservative government.

Steve Reed, the new Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Secretary, has said “the Tories left British farming on its knees”.

Responding to inheritance tax relief concerns, a Labour spokesperson said: “The Conservatives left Britain facing the worst economic inheritance since the Second World War because they refused to make the tough decisions and spent money that didn’t exist. 

“The Chancellor has been clear that difficult decisions lie ahead to repair the colossal damage left by the Conservatives and address the £22 billion hole in the public finances. 

“Decisions on how to do that will be taken at the Budget in the round.”