Full edition for scientific use. The aim of this dataset is to outline the results of a mixed-methods research on new entrants to mountain farming conducted in the case study regions Vorarlberg, Tyrol and South Tyrol (Eastern Alps). In a first survey stage, new entrants were identified and their routes into mountain farming as well as the resulting social and spatial impacts were recorded using semi-structured interviews. In the light of a multi-level perspective (MLP), further interviews with experts in local policy, regional planning and agriculture (on local, regional and federal level) provided detailed insights on the challenges and opportunities of new entrants. In a second stage, statistical data on agricultural training (adult education; ger: landwirtschaftliche Fachausbildung) at the agricultural colleges of the study regions and beyond were collected and merged. Both the 32 expert interviews and the 24 interviews with new entrants were recorded, transcribed and analyzed according to the Grounded Theory. Resulting qualitative data is available as interview transcripts and as a codebook. For reasons of research ethics, the data set contains only carefully selected transcripts of expert interviews. In addition to the qualitative and quantitative data outlined above, further information is provided to better understand the findings and data. This includes an anonymization guideline, both interview guidelines, the consent form, hard facts and metadata of all interviews, the current data management plan as well as figures.