UNITED STATES

                       SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
                             WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549


                                     FORM 8K

                                 CURRENT REPORT
                     PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE
                         SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

                        Date of Report: December 16, 1997



                           FARM FAMILY HOLDINGS, INC.
      A Delaware Corporation Commission File No. 1-11941 IRS No. 14-1789227

                   344 Route 9W, Glenmont, New York 12077-2910
                  Registrant's telephone number: (518) 431-5000






Item 5.  Other Events

         On December 16, 1997, Farm Family Holdings, Inc. issued a press release
announcing  that  a  committee  of its  independent  directors  and a  committee
representing  the  shareholders  of Farm  Family  Life  Insurance  Company  have
negotiated  the  proposed  exercise  price,  and  a  revision  of  the  form  of
consideration to be paid, under the Option Purchase  Agreement pursuant to which
Farm Family  Holdings,  Inc. has an option to acquire Farm Family Life Insurance
Company.

Item 7.  Financial Statements and Exhibits


The following exhibits are filed as part of this report:

Exhibit Index

Exhibit 99 - Press Release


                                   Signatures

Pursuant  to the  requirements  of the  Securities  Exchange  Act of  1934,  the
registrant  has duly  caused  this  report  to be  signed  on its  behalf by the
undersigned thereunto duly authorized.

                                       FARM FAMILY HOLDINGS, INC.
                                              (Registrant)




   December 16, 1997                       /s/ Philip P. Weber
- -----------------------   ------------------------------------------------------
        (Date)                               Philip P. Weber
                                            President and CEO









Exhibit 99

                                                                    News Release





FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT:      Timothy A. Walsh
              Executive Vice President -  Finance & Treasurer
              (518) 431-5410

Glenmont,  NY - December 16, 1997 -- Farm Family Holdings,  Inc. ("Farm Family")
announced  today that a committee of its  independent  directors and a committee
representing the  shareholders of Farm Family Life Insurance  Company (the "Life
Company") have  negotiated the proposed  exercise  price,  and a revision of the
form of consideration to be paid, under the Option Purchase  Agreement  pursuant
to which  Farm  Family  has an option to  acquire  the Life  Company.  Under the
proposed new terms,  Farm Family would pay an exercise price of $37.5 million to
acquire the Life  Company,  of which $5.5 million  would be paid in cash and the
balance in shares of the common stock of Farm Family. These terms are subject to
the approval of the  shareholders of the Life Company and the Board of Directors
of Farm Family.

Philip P. Weber,  President & CEO, said "We are pleased to be moving  forward on
the  potential  acquisition  of the Life Company.  Under the proposed  terms and
based on our  current  stock  price and  earnings  expectations,  we expect  the
acquisition to be slightly accretive to earnings in 1998."

The Life Company was  established in 1953 by certain Farm  Bureaus(R) to provide
life insurance  products for Farm Bureau  members  principally in the Northeast.
The Life Company  principally  sells term,  traditional whole life and universal
life products,  in addition to single and flexible premium  deferred  annuities,
single premium immediate  annuities and disability income insurance products and
operates in the same ten states as and through a common distribution system with
Farm Family  Casualty  Insurance  Company,  the wholly owned  subsidiary of Farm
Family.

Farm Family has not made a final  determination  as to whether it will  exercise
its option to acquire the Life Company.  Farm Family's  decision to exercise the
option will depend on, among other things,  whether the shareholders of the Life
Company approve the proposed new terms of the Option Purchase  Agreement.  There
can be no assurance that Farm Family will exercise the option.



                                  *** MORE ***


Farm  Family  Holdings,  Inc. is the parent of Farm  Family  Casualty  Insurance
Company,  a  specialized,  regional  property  and  casualty  insurer  of farms,
agricultural  related  businesses  and  residents  and  businesses  of rural and
suburban communities.

Safe Harbor  Statement  under The Private  Securities  Litigation  Reform Act of
1995: This news release contains  forward-looking  statements within the meaning
of the  Private  Securities  Litigation  Reform  Act of 1995  that are  based on
management's   current   knowledge,   expectations,   estimates,   beliefs   and
assumptions.  The forward-looking  statements in this news release include,  but
are not  limited  to,  statements  with  respect to the  exercise  price of Farm
Family's option to acquire the Life Company and the form of the consideration in
which such  exercise  price would be paid,  the  earnings  expectations  of Farm
Family and the Life Company,  the impact of the  acquisition of the Life Company
on the earnings of Farm Family,  and any decision by Farm Family to exercise its
option to acquire the Life Company. The forward-looking  statements in this news
release are not guarantees of future  performance and are subject to a number of
important  risks and  uncertainties,  many of which are  outside  Farm  Family's
control,  that could cause actual results to differ materially.  These risks and
uncertainties  include,  but are not limited to, factors related to the approval
of the proposed new terms of the Option Purchase Agreement by the Life Company's
shareholders and by Farm Family's Board of Directors,  the results of operations
of Farm Family and the Life Company,  fluctuations in the market value of shares
of Farm  Family's  common  stock,  the  exercise by Farm Family of its option to
acquire the Life Company,  the satisfaction of the closing  conditions set forth
in the Option Purchase  Agreement (which conditions  include but are not limited
to, the receipt of all  required  governmental  approvals),  and the other risks
disclosed in Farm Family's filings with the Securities and Exchange  Commission,
specifically the Form 10-K filed for the fiscal year ended December 31, 1996 and
the Prospectus dated July 22, 1996.


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