One of the oldest laments in agrarian development has been over the ageing and loss of the farm population but, for the first time since the Second World War, a noticeable return to farming is now taking place across most of Europe. These farm entrants we classify as Continuers and Newcomers. Research shows that they have different characteristics. Newcomers are characterized by their profiles (female and higher education), the barriers they face (access to land, capital and markets) and by the business models that they adopt (pluriactive and multifunctional). This paper describes the main features of Newcomers as they form a new and dynamic group in European rural society and contribute strong social motivations and practices to farming. This change may be referred to as a shift from an agroindustrial to an agrosocial paradigm and, together with new social and environmental relations in food systems, forms a new rurality in Europe.

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