Strutting out to his roadside fruit stall in Queensland's citrus region, North Burnett farmer Ken Roth looks proud.
He is holding the first box of mandarins he and his wife Megan Roth have picked and packed from their Gayndah property of the season.
The smile on the "born on an orchard" farmer's face has been earned.
He beams as he breaks apart a mandarin to show some customers.
It has been a stressful lead-up to the season with floods devastating regions surrounding the North Burnett, labour issues impacting harvest, and high fuel prices driving up costs.
But what concerns Mr Roth the most is making sure consumers get the juiciest and best citrus to set up their expectations for what promises to be a good season.
"It's been a lot of pressure," Mr Roth said.
"Getting the pick that I want and getting the grade of the fruit that I want in the box.
"It's more pressure now than when we get going."
In a few weeks' time, school lunch boxes around Australia will be filled with the Roths' mandarins. As children rip off the peel, they are unlikely to consider the months of effort or the hidden costs that went into producing their lunchtime Vitamin C hit.
This year, rising fuel costs mean transporting citrus from North Burnett around Australia and overseas will be a far more expensive journey.
Even before harvest starts, farmers are wearing the cost of running farm machinery and a transport-related price hike in fertilisers.
"I hope we can get a little extra to cover the fuel costs. We will see how it turns out.
"Fertilisers [have] tripled [in cost], it's ridiculous. It's going to cost $50,000 to $100,000 on last year to fertilise our place."
While Gayndah avoided the worst of the recent rains, the higher-than-normal falls did cause some minor issues with "brown spot" on the first season fruit.
The fungus on the fruit surface does not impact flavour, but it means only 70 per cent of the early harvest will receive a premium price, compared to 95 per cent in other years.
Thanking overseas workers
It is not just the physical costs consumers should consider when choosing their mandarins, oranges, lemons and grapefruits, but some of the sacrifices overseas workers have made during the pandemic to help keep Australians fed.
While critical seasonal worker shortages have caused major issues for farmers needing fruit and vegetables picked and packed, Mr Roth is thankful he has been helped by a team of Pacific Island workers.
"We have been lucky we have been working with the workers for about eight years," Mr Roth said.
"We have got a crew [from Tonga] that got stuck out here, and they would love to go home.
"Can you imagine most Australians doing that?"
