Better Business

How to Read Order Acknowledgments

Every flower farmer knows that horticultural ordering–even on Farmer Bailey’s simple e-commerce website–is a little more complex than buying ordinary, non-living products that sit in a warehouse for months. As your horticultural broker, Farmer Bailey transmits your order to our partner greenhouse growers, who custom grow and ship your chosen plants to order.

Every Gro ‘n Sell, Plug Connection, and Terra Nova order placed via FarmerBailey.com will trigger an Order Acknowledgement (ACK) email with .pdf attachment, sent to you from the greenhouse grower. You can locate these Order Acknowledgements by searching your inbox for emails with “ACK” in the subject line. It is very important to read over your ACK, since they can contain critical updates from the plug grower. 

Any revisions to your order will trigger a new ACK email with a fresh .pdf file reflecting the modifications. Changes such as swapped varieties or revised Ship Week due to backorders (or not enough lead time) might not be reflected in the Order History in your FarmerBailey.com Account, so your ACK email is the most reliable source for the up-to-date version of your order.

Our customer service team has assembled examples of Acknowledgements, highlighting key information and examples of possible changes.  Read on for the pro tips.

Example One

No Changes

This is an example of an ACK with no changes, substitutions, or notes. It will match the order in your Account History.

Key pieces of information to check include Ship To address; Ship Date/Week; Boxes; and the unique PO Number located at the bottom of the page.

SHIP TO

The Ship To name and address is the destination for your order.  Please check your address to ensure that your plugs arrive to the correct destination. Packages with an incorrect Ship To address will have to be re-routed; delays can cause damage to your plugs. Avoid unnecessary stress by reading your ACK as soon as it lands in your inbox.

SHIP DATE/WEEK

Find your order’s Ship Date/Week on the left hand side of the ACK. In Example One, the order is scheduled to ship the week of May 12, 2025.  The Ship Week is the week your order ships, not the exact date.  The Ship Week is indicated with the year first, with the week number following.  202520 indicates Week 20 of 2025. Download our free, printable Ship Week Calendar for a handy reference.

BOXES

On the right hand side of the ACK you will see the total number of shipping boxes for your order.  Each plug grower has their own specific minimum and maximum number of trays per box.  Refer to our Everything You Need to Know pages for each catalog before placing your order.

PO NUMBER

This one is a little tricky!  There is a space on the right side of the ACK that says PO Number, but this is actually the internal reference created by the plug grower’s inventory management system. Your order’s PO number is always five digits, and can be found in your Farmer Bailey confirmation email; in the subject line of your ACK email; and at the very bottom of your ACK .pdf.  If you have questions about your order, contact the Farmer Bailey customer service team at info@farmerbailey.com and include this five-digit PO number for the fastest and most accurate assistance. Your PO number will not change, even if alterations are made to your order.

Example TWO

Ship Week Change

Occasionally, an order’s Ship Week will be altered due to backordered trays, seed or cutting shortages, or not enough lead time to produce the crop. In Example Two, you can see on the very bottom of the page that this order was pushed out to Week 10 due to lack of sufficient lead time.

To avoid Ship Week changes, please begin with an empty Cart when placing an order.

Placing an order from items previously Carted can result in disappointment, as the sow dates will likely already have passed. Each crop requires a specific number of weeks to grow to the correct transplant size. For example, Lisianthus requires at least 12 weeks lead time to grow to plug size. Place your orders well in advance to secure your preferred Ship Weeks.

Example Three

Tray Substitution

In the unlikely event of a seed shortage or crop failure, the plug grower will send you an updated Order Acknowledgement email indicating the NA tray. Our customer service team will reach out to you to find a solution, be that a substitution, refund, or a combination thereof. In Example Three, Gerbera Rebel Jinx was substituted for Gerbera Rebel Craze, because Rebel Craze’s tissue culture propagation failed in the lab. Even the experts can’t expect a 100% success rate.

Changed Orders Resulting in Two ACKs

Sometimes when there has been an order change, customers receive two ACKs: the old edition with a changed note in the upper righthand corner that says CANCELED ORDER, and the new revised edition that says ACKNOWLEDGMENT in that same place. Both ACKs will be attached to the same email. Rest assured, your order has not been canceled.

Thank you for actively participating in the ordering process by reading your Order Acknowledgements. Our mission is to inspire greatness in growers of all sizes by providing superior starter plants, extraordinary customer service, and expert educational resources. Your success is our first priority!