Peak phosphate is front of mind for a lot of commodity traders, but most end users (farmers) are unaware or apathetic - at least in New Zealand where I grew up.

Peak phosphate is front of mind for a lot of commodity traders, but most end users (farmers) are unaware or apathetic - at least in New Zealand where I grew up. Most farmers will put an annual quota of Nitrogen, Phosphate, and Potassium (NPK) on their farms as advised by either of the two major fertiliser suppliers. Every 5 years or so these companies revise how much Phosphate should be applied, increasing it each time as the efficacy of the phosphate application lessens. Soil is incredibly complex. Much like the human body, it has a lot of different chemical and biological interactions. For example phosphate is often applied with Lime (calcium carbonate), which adjusts the pH of the soil. The soil pH has to be roughly between 6 & 7 for it to be available for uptake by plants/roots (once again accounting for hundreds of other factors). If the soil has pH>7 the phosphate will be "fixed" by the excess calcium. If it has a pH<6 then its "fixed" by excess aluminium/iron. Or there is no fixation at all and the phosphate just leaches into waterways before it can be utilised by the plant. This is a overly simplified mechanism which has been used for a long time in agriculture. A more effective action than trying to find new sources of phosphate is to change how we use the phosphate. Applying the phosphate with carbon and organic matter is probably a good start. Carbon is good for binding nutrients and organic matter is a biological playground for worms and fungi. Mycorrhizae are soil fungi that form a symbiotic association with plant roots. The hyphae (branch) of the fungus connect with plant roots and extend into the soil, acting like extensions of the plants root system by absorbing nutrients and transporting them back to the plant roots. A major benefit in this respect is an increase in P uptake. In exchange, the mycorrhizae receive sugars manufactured by the plant (through photosynthesis or other nutrient uptake). Unfortunately there hasn't been much commercialisation of any of new science/innovation in the fertiliser industry, for reasons I'm not too sure (disclaimer - my family produce fertiliser so I might be biased/jaded by the industry). Probably because we still aren't close enough to peak phosphate. It may also be because the soil conditions have to change before they become conducive to biology and organic matter, which would mean a "down year" for a farmer. There are also a lot of snake-oil salesman peddling the latest magic water that a farmer can spray on their crops for immediate results. We need to start looking after our soil much like we look after our bodies. Living on a diet of NPK is just as bad for soil as a human living on burgers, coke, and fries.