AS we welcomed the new year with optimism I can recall many conversations about how people could not wait to see the end of 2019 and that a new year would bring new opportunities.
On the back of drought and water deficiencies across the country, flooding and devastating bushfires, we were looking forward to 2020 with enthusiasm.
Then we added new words to our vocabulary - coronavirus, COVID-19 and social distancing - and with it the emotional and financially-crippling baggage that only a pandemic could deliver.
At first coronavirus was something that was mainly being talked about overseas and it generated endless social media memes and jokes.
And then reality hit - this is both deadly and something that no one in the world is immune from.
With each week the fallout from coronavirus became more serious but this time period very quickly escalated to each day and now the focus and response is on a minute-by-minute basis.
No one can preach with confidence that they will not be affected in some way.
There is no playbook that we can all refer to on how to work our way through the challenges that we will all face.
One thing for certain however is that Australian agriculture will play a key role in a recovery as our farmers continue to feed our nation.
On the back of the panic buying craziness that has seen consumers in a frenzy to strip shopping centre shelves bare of most food items, it is important to note that Australian farmers produce enough food for 75 million people - three times what we need.
The challenge for retailers is getting the shelves restocked before the next wave of panic buying raids their produce and that is putting an enormous strain on logistics and the supply chain.
Going forward hopefully the panic buying will slowly disappear as more people understand the situation.
And speaking of going forward, on the back of our borders being shut down and interstate and overseas movement restrictions, hopefully this will not prohibit the delivery of essential goods and services that are required for our food production.
For the majority the start of their 2020 seeding programs is not that far away (a select few have already started in earnest) and with it comes the need for many things including spare parts, chemical, fertiliser and even labour hire.
The challenge will be to reduce the supply chain interruptions so that food production is not jeopardised.
But it is not just Australia that we deliver our food to, with Federal Agriculture Minister David Littleproud saying last week that our food production levels make us one of the food bowls of the world.
"We can take great comfort from the fact that this lucky country produces enough food to guarantee we will continue to enjoy the best produced products anywhere in the world," Mr Littleproud said.
"There is a reliable supply from the farm paddocks to the dining room plates, of fresh nutritious food, for our good health and wellbeing.
"And the Federal government is already preparing options to minimise the impacts should supply chains be interrupted from labour right through to transport.
"We'll make sure that the labour supply for agriculture is looked after if it becomes an issue.
"The Federal government is prepared to act with possible visa changes if they are required.
"Our food security is the best in the world and the Federal government will take the necessary steps to make sure it stays that way."
Let's hope that also translates to the ongoing viability of our live export industry that has already had its fair share of challenges in recent years.
Farm Weekly recently reported that coronavirus was making it hard for live export vessels to source vets to accompany the journey, with staff not allowed to leave the ship after they have arrived at their destination - meaning they are away for longer periods of time and have to return on an empty ship instead of flying back.
After our borders have been closed down, people within the live export industry are hopeful that there will be exemptions and that the vessels will still be allowed to leave Australia - it's just another challenge for Australian agriculture.
Make no mistake, there will be countless other examples where industry across this country will be affected and a lot of business will fail to recover from this pandemic.
Good luck to everyone involved and let's hope that we come out of these dark days sooner rather than later.