["Sociologia Ruralis, Volume 66, Issue 4, October 2026. ", "\nABSTRACT\nGenerational renewal is increasingly recognised as a crucial challenge for the future of agriculture. Recent literature has placed growing emphasis on the importance of farmer identity as a key dimension shaping young people's interest in agriculture, their approach to farm management and their long‐term commitment. This study contributes to the debate by proposing an analysis of generational renewal through the lens of identity theory. Specifically, the research explores how farmer identity is constructed, negotiated and validated by three distinct groups of young people: successors, potential successors and new entrants. Twenty semi‐structured interviews have been conducted with young people as categorised above in rural areas of Sicily. The study identifies four cases that illustrate how differences in self‐concept, alignment with symbolic role standards and processes of internal and external recognition shape individual engagement in agriculture and generate concrete implications at the farm level. Results reveal four distinct identity pathways—Redefining, Held‐Back, Hesitant and Self‐Made—each associated with different forms of engagement and farm‐level outcomes. Accordingly, this study provides policy‐relevant insights for each case, emphasising the need to promote initiatives that support young individuals in developing renegotiated and enduring farmer identities.\n"]