This report examines the historical and current role of life insurance companies in providing capital to the U.S. farm sector. Special attention is paid to the activities of the life insurance industry in the wake of farm sector financial stress in the 1980's and the advent of the Farmer Mac secondary market for farm mortgage loans. As a result, fewer life insurance companies offer new farm loans, portfolios are more diversified, loans are larger, and lending has shifted to the Southeast and West. Life insurance companies were leaders in developing the first loan pools guaranteed by Farmer Mac. Through time, they have lessened involvement in direct farm loan activities, increased direct ownership of farmland, and achieved wider flexibility in managing their agricultural investment portfolios.