Jon Frank

Jon is a lifelong student of the soil. His 4-decade journey to unravel its mysteries began as a teen and continues today. His mission is to optimize soil, and by this, improve food quality and the health of plants, livestock, people, and the planet. Jon studied the work of many early pioneers to glean from their wisdom. His foundational focus has been the work of Dr. Carey Reams. Reams developed an energetic understanding of how plants grow called Reams Biological Theory of Ionization (RBTI). RBTI is a comprehensive view of life and physical matter and its connection to the flow of energy.

Jon conclusively proved the theory when he developed the first nationwide garden program focused on the nutritional density of food. During this time, Jon was a partner with and mentored by Dr. Dan Skow. Dr. Skow was trained by and taught many classes with Dr. Reams. Jon was a co-owner of International Ag Labs in Fairmont, Minnesota for 14 years.

For the past 2 decades, Jon has prescribed fertility recommendations across the United States for thousands of gardens, market gardens, greenhouses, specialty crops, cannabis, and field crops. Jon developed a lab test to measure the nutrient density of produce and documented the cause-and-effect relationship between an optimized soil, the health of plants, and the nutrient density of food. While not formally trained as a scientist, Jon has engaged in several research projects relating to food quality as a citizen scientist. One that stands out was to initiate a nationwide butternut squash competition to see who could grow the most nutrient-dense butternut squash. Cash prizes were given to the winners but more importantly a standard of nutrient density was established for that specific crop.

Jon grew up in northern Minnesota. As a young adult, he lived in India for 6 years where he met his wife, Rebecca, and her family. Jon and Rebecca have been married for 30 years and live in southern Minnesota on a rural acreage with a garden, a few animals, and lots of trees. They have been blessed with 5 children and 4 grandchildren.

Jon enjoys spending time with family, the solitude of forests, gardening, and teaching about soil and plant health through writing and speaking.