ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book considers why intergenerational succession remains important in contemporary agriculture. It focuses on intergenerational succession in family farming, and offers insights from family business studies and illustrates how farm family business and their advisors can learn from other sectors. The book draws on the FARMTRANSFERS methodology, and outlines the origins and history of the FARMTRANSFERS approach. It considers the importance of the family farm and how ideas about the family farm have influenced thinking about the relationship between farmers, farming, state, society and culture, particularly in Europe and the United States. The book explores why succession remains important in contemporary family farming systems, and discusses some of the direct and indirect impacts of succession on the farm business. It emphases the analysis of policy approaches for facilitating entry and exit from agriculture.
