Kaufman County

Greetings from the Kaufman County Extension Office. Kaufman County had its beginning in a fort built in 1840 to protect surveyors from Native Americans. By 1845, settlers began arriving to claim land in the area, which led to the formation of Kaufman County in 1848. It was named after David S. Kaufman, a pioneer Texas legislator in the Republic of Texas, and one of the first representatives of the new State of Texas in the U.S. Congress.

For much of its history, Kaufman County depended upon agriculture and ranching for its economic growth. The wide variety of soils permitted many different crops for many years. Today, there is perhaps more emphasis upon ranching and light industry as the county grows due to its proximity to the Dallas metroplex.

In October 1903, the success of techniques proposed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to increase productivity was proven at the Porter Farm near Terrell. A network of farm demonstration agents was quickly built which brought these techniques to the farmers of the nations. Such was the importance of the method demonstrations through the “Terrell Plan.” The U.S. Department of the Interior erected an official plaque at the farm commemorating its establishment. At the time, the only similar marker in Texas was at the San Jacinto battleground. A centennial celebration for the Porter Farm took place in Kaufman County in October of 2003.

Kaufman County is the fastest growing county in the State of Texas and the fourth in the United States. Even with the growth, Kaufman County still keeps to its roots of being involved heavily in agriculture. In 2023, gross agriculture sales accounted for $95,398,000 to the economy. Livestock and forage alone made up 72.3% of that with sales of $68,949,380.

Mission: To provide the citizens quality, relevant outreach and continuing educational programs.