Rate My Professor Jon Walton

Jon Walton serves as Distinguished Lecturer and Undergraduate Coordinator in the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, part of the Herbert College of Agriculture and the University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture. He earned his M.S. degree in Agricultural Economics from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Walton's career includes work as an Extension specialist on the UT Biofuels Initiative, followed by teaching undergraduate courses in agricultural economics since 2013. He contributes to the Tennessee Master Farm Manager Program, providing guidance to producers across the state. Additionally, he operates a farm in Loudon and Blount counties, raising beef cattle and row crops, which informs his practical approach to education. A native of Friendsville, Tennessee, Walton grew up on his family's dairy farm, operated continuously from the late 1930s until 1999. Both his grandfather and father earned degrees from what is now the Herbert College of Agriculture. The 1980s farm crisis and his family's departure from dairy production motivated his interest in farm finances and structural changes in agricultural economies. Walton mentors students through advising the NAMA Student Marketing Team, participating in college committees such as the Undergraduate Academic Council, and emphasizing internships and undergraduate research opportunities.

Walton's research involvement includes a USDA AMS-funded project with colleagues Andrew Griffith, Karen DeLong, Chris Boyer, and Charley Martinez to enhance price discovery and market transparency in hay markets through experiments identifying key hay attributes, in partnership with the Tennessee Cattlemen’s Association and Tennessee Department of Agriculture. His earlier publications focus on precision agriculture adoption in cotton production: 'Factors Influencing Farmer Adoption of Portable Computers for Site-Specific Management: A Case Study for Cotton Production' (2010), 'Grid soil sampling adoption and abandonment in cotton production' (2010), 'PDA and Handheld GPS Adoption in Precision Cotton Production' (2008), and 'Adoption and Abandonment of Precision Soil Sampling in Cotton Production' (2008). In 2025, he was promoted to Distinguished Lecturer and received the Outstanding Faculty Advisor Award from the Herbert College of Agriculture.