A run-up in prices and shortage of man-made nutrients are forcing the agriculture industry to adapt, and the impact could be severe. Soybeans during a harvest on a farm near Brasilia, Brazil, where farmers are having trouble getting fertilizer for the next soybean crop. Photographer: Andressa Anholete/Bloomberg For the first time ever, farmers the world over — all at the same time — are testing the limits of how little chemical fertilizer they can apply without devastating their yields come harvest time. Early predictions are bleak. In Brazil, the world’s biggest soybean producer , a 20% cut in potash use could bring a 14% drop in yields, according to industry consultancy MB Agro. In Costa Rica, a coffee cooperative representing 1,200 small producers sees output falling as much as 15% next year if the farmers miss even one-third of normal application. In West Africa, falling fertilizer use will shrink […]