I've been pondering Meridith's issue with questions and thoughts.
You stated that a scheduled UPS stop is $20. Said takes 100 boxes at a time (i'm guessing not every time). If I understand this from info have that's $0.20/box. When figure driving expense and the time gone from the business this is much more cost effective at least with my pencil. With costs of doing business pretty much going up, figuring in the possible net increase/ item by having scheduled pickup is not much to figure in (with info shared). This is minute compared to increase in property tax on your farm buildings, housing and big increases in farm ins for liability, fire, theft as well as vehicle ins. All has to be figured into the price of product produced as well as cost of commodity's production cost. As I read the shipping info on the website I see NO out of U.S. shipping and u post X amt of days for shipping. Also I gathered u group orders for shipping which I assume would work for scheduled UPS stops. I realize u may have to invest in some tech equipment to do this but u may have certain parts of it already.
In regard to overnight or extra fast shipping, if a customer wants that they no darn well they are going to pay a lot more. Question: what % of shipped orders are time sensitive and how so?
In my humble opinion DON'T dwell on what cannot be changed, instead adapt and overcome. That's all part of being a small business owner and being successful and profitable.
THis is a really important issue that is not getting attention. A friend in New Hampshire told me that the UPS near him is closing too (Keene/Swanzey.) This country needs to be more supportive of small businesses. Thanks, Bob, for your good work on this.
When Creston was notified, I immediately contacted all my business friends to see if any of them would be interested in taking on the role that was once supported by the UPS Store in town. And I wouldn’t call it a “store,” just a counter inside the UPS warehouse in Creston. Now, we can still take boxes in there, they just have to be labeled prior to dropping off. However, that can be difficult for residents who don’t understand the technology or lack the equipment.
The UPS bins are OK for envelopes when they aren’t packed to the brim. They don’t appear to be picking up that frequently, either.
The closest UPS place with an employee to help is in Indianola, 47 miles away, and if you live in Bedford Iowa, you’re driving 71 miles and crossing state lines. Crazy.
I have been to Meredith’s Barnswallow Flowers business, and I am so sorry this happening to her. It is yet another example of how little regard there is for fostering rural economic development as part of a national agenda. Not sure how Trump privatizes USPS without damaging Amazon’s “last mile “ reliance on it.
I feel for you...hope something can be worked out. Very hard when you've been dependent on something for so long and have no solid alternatives. Wishing you the best & thx for sharing your story with Dr Bob.
Assuming the facilities themselves are staying open, closing these service centers makes no sense. As noted, the people working there are already performing other work (and would be there, regardless). That means any traffic/revenue/etc. at the counter is not only incremental revenue, but also offsets their fixed costs.
The UPS closed in my town earlier this year. We’re a village in rural VT and now we’ll need to drive 40 minutes farther to get to a UPS. Of course this is a trend
The customers complaining about the decline in service come from counties that supported the MAGA president and MAGA legislators in the last few elections. The customers value White Supremacy, assault weapons, and misogyny more than rural services. There are reasons for the decline in rural county populations. They've made their cake. Let them eat it.
Hi Michael, this is Farmer Meredith Nunnikhoven from Oskaloosa, Iowa. Since the article was written about me and my business, I just wanted to come on here to share some thoughts.
Myself and the farm are not politically affiliated and do not believe in white supremacy, the use of assault weapons and misogyny. We have never promoted or asked for anyone to be or vote a certain way. And we don't value politics over people and our access to rural services.
As someone who has been flower farming for over 15 years, I'm simply asking for a fair chance to run a business in a rural area. Everyone deserves access to basic services, like shipping, in order to build resilience, diverse businesses especially in a rural economy. It's very difficult to come by a large population of customers, as the largest city is almost 60 miles away. For us, this lone shipping service is critical to a small family farm survival. I hope you connect with me and our website at barnswallowflowers.com. We also welcome you to visit the farm and stay at our AirBnB (The Barnswallow Cottage) to learn more about our farm operation. Thank You Kindly, -Farmer Meredith
I feel for u BUT isn't a private company allowed to make business decisions just like ur business? Changes due to operating decisions will always affect someone. I used to get rural mail 6 days a week, now 5 and may go to 4. Some of the mail is time sensitive but I'll adapt.
In this discussion about Meridith I still understand her situation. It does appear she may have to explain to customers and potential customers that she has to increase shipping because of the situation. Sell her self, be honest, play on their sympathy. It's all workable.
With the depletion of the modern functionary needs of a proper mail service in USPS, it comes down to myself, a rural no-name farmer, to expose that truly, the entire shipment system is broken. And, this brokenness is unacceptable. USPS filling in the gaps while allowing private companies to not serve critical needs areas is not a sustainable nor a resilient. Everyone loses.
There seems to be a huge misunderstanding by companies like UPS in regards to where rural economics currently are and what type of customers they are serving. It's not just a disappointment, these mindsets are girdling economic opportunity in places where state and federal tax dollars are already being sent and spent to build back rural America from the effects of international offshoring and big-box domination. Doesn't make much sense to me. These decisions are being made that are knowingly killing economic opportunity while at the same time a rural customer, like me, is being asked to just deal with it. There is really good work being done for rural America, which takes a VERY long time in recovery mode to re-establish and rebuild.
I think UPS has a really amazing opportunity here to work with rural business owners and citizens to rebuild infrastructure in a way that actually serves the needed scope. That brown truck has been driving on our farmyard since I was a child. The fleet managers and drivers are the backbone of supporting and understanding rural America. But they also have their limits, especially in time and volume size while battling extreme weather conditions that impact small highways and rock roads.
I feel strongly that there is no way, with the growing shipping volume demand, that our rural UPS fleet can support everyone in SE Iowa efficiently and quickly if all rural critical access stores close. That means days upon days of waiting for a pick up. That means no same-day drop. That mean no paying for a shipping label or scanning a code to produce one. As a country girl, I'm already conditioned to helping companies, like UPS, by driving my package into the store to alleviate this type of pinch. That saves UPS time and money on its end, because I'm willing to participate. After many others and myself have spent a lifetime of helping UPS build its company and support its employees, it has a huge responsibility to help those most critically affected by their decisions.
What a person may think makes economic sense a private company must not and I presume they have the numbers and the data. If there were economic opportunities there they would service it. IF there is an economic opportunity to be had someone else may fill it in. We must adapt.
This doesn’t have anything to do with the topic at hand, but your post was a real blast from the past! Meredith played college softball at Creighton University. I taught her in a Business Statistics course. I remember her as having a very positive attitude and being quite artistic. Thanks for the trip down memory lane.
Thanks, Meredith for sharing your concern..and to Bob for writing on it. I will re-post with a challenge to our Iowa govt officials (Gov and Legislature) to get involved. You and other small businesses have concerns that must be addressed. As I will write below, even major job losses have been invisible to Gov. Reynolds and the legislature.
Our Gov and legislature have been negligent in doing or trying to do anything with layoffs (see below). I am also critical of D's for not raising these issues.
I want to focus on some of the major layoffs in Iowa since 2018, but I should note my knowledge cuts off in April 2024, so there may have been additional significant layoffs after that time.
Some notable layoffs include:
*John Deere (2020) - approximately 100 workers at the Davenport facility
*Wells Fargo (2019-2023) - multiple rounds affecting hundreds of Des Moines area workers with significant cuts in 2023
*TPI Composites (2021) - about 710 workers in Newton when plant closed
*Tyson Foods (2023) - roughly 1,300 workers when two plants closed in Perry and Independence
*Collins Aerospace (2020) - around 72 workers in Cedar Rapids
*SSAB steel mill (2020) - about 110 workers in Montpelier
*Flexsteel (2020) - approximately 213 workers in Dubuque
*META/Facebook (2023) - layoffs at Altoona data center, though exact numbers weren't widely reportedJ
However, I'd recommend verifying these numbers as reporting can vary on exact figures, and some layoffs may have been revised or had workers recalled later.
Hi Tim! Just wanted to hop on here. The closest FedEx customer service center is a drop sight at the Ottumwa airport about 30 minutes away. That FedEx can't do Express and can only take pre-labeled packages. Then 60 minutes away in Des Moines. Since we use Shopify as an e-commerce platform for online sales, we also get shipping discounts from their partner UPS. Something our customers really like. Since every penny is critical, this is why UPS is so valuable just 5 minutes away to our small rural businesses.
Great reporting, Bob. I appreciate the comments about what we can do to fix the US Postal Service. I had a great conversation with my postmaster in Jewell the other day. He and his mom used to run the newspaper in Story City, before it was bought out by the Ames Tribune. My stepmom was a postmistress in Spencer. Some super-intelligent folks work for USPS. We ought to listen to them.
I was a little nervous dropping off a high priced item with a prepaid shipping label at the Knoxville UPS drop off near my home. Like the writeup says, no scanning in, no protected storage area for theft prevention (or insurance if stolen before pickup. ) I don’t think there is a notice sent when it’s picked up either.
My best solution would be to bring my shipment just prior to the pickup time or sit in the parking lot and hand it to the driver🙄
A lot of us old timers would be very upset to see the USPS closed . We’re old, but we can vote.
I'm a middle-timer, and would also be very upset to see USPS closed (or worse, privatized). Voting alone is not enough - we have to motivate our friends, neighbors, and beyond to vote with us, too.
I am pondering the connection between the UPS and USPS here, and jumping through some mental hoops...
If I were responsible for UPS global operations, I would be worried about long-term viability... yes CEO compensation is problematic; but also increasing costs of doing business (driver pay, fleet maintenance, etc) while serving declining areas of population in the uncertainty of the coming automated vehicle revolution and competition from the likes of the more vertical Amazon... I find it hard to fault the UPS decision when it shows it will save $3b over some years.
In an attempt to make lemonade from lemons... is there an opportunity for the SERVICE-oriented USPS to add services here to compensate for what USP will no longer offer? Adding higher levels of insurance does not seem like something difficult for the USPS to do, and could offset the cost of maintaining full service in rural areas. That might even appeal to the nut that runs the USPS currently.
I would encourage folks to be talking to their postmasters explaining the needs here, and finding ways to keep USPS services open by spending more dollars there.
Hi Tony! Just wanted to hop on here and provide some input. What's great about USPS is that that the service is an option. However, that service doesn't have the capability to provide a broad amount of service needs created by both company and customer demands.
We do get discounts using UPS though our e-commerce platform called Shopify. With pinching pennies, it's really helping to choose UPS as our main shipping provider. These same discounts are not provided by USPS and FedEx. We would pass this expense off to the customer, but that's not realistic when customers have a choice to buy products elsewhere.
The customer service portion of companies like UPS and FedEx is invaluable and absolutely needed when companies ship specialty goods like perishable plants, tubers, bulbs, etc. If really cold, we can relay that the customer has to sign for the package so it doesn't freeze in someone's mailbox. If the package gets lost, UPS and FedEx have great accountability systems in place to track and find package. They are called custom critical services. USPS does not have these services.
As someone who shipped thousands of packages to date and knows the options, I'm really scared about continuing to operate a business without realistic resources. This is why I called Dr. Bob to help write the article. Thank you so much for your support and interest. I welcome you to visit the farm in 2025! XO, Farmer Meredith
Hi Meredith - thanks for the additional context. I'll note that the USPS has been shipping live chicks for a long time - I've just ordered my next batch of 300 chicks to arrive in mid-February here in central Iowa. If they can handle moving 300 chicks that are 2-days old and getting them to me with a 99% survival rate in probably-freezing temperatures - I'm willing to bet that (perhaps with some additional services), they could accommodate your needs, too.
Certainly the USPS will need to innovate to survive; my main point is that with some real leadership that is service-focused, there's no reason that the USPS can not do many if not all of the things that you need, including discounts in partnership with Shopify. It's a vision thing, not a feasibility thing! I would add that the USPS - if run has a service to our country, instead of a profit center, is far more likely to be able to continue to serve all of the country including the rural areas because they can be subsidized by higher-profit areas. Whereas a for-profit business shuts down low-profit and no-profit areas, a service like the USPS that does not need to generate a profit, can, at least in theory, more viably provide these services. I think it comes down to leadership and values, and that requires voting and motivating others to vote on these important issues.
Change is scary, and it's the only constant in our lives, and for better and worse the pace of change is only increasing. For the sake of our rural communities, I hope we wake up to the power we have to be the government we are, instead of collectively shirking our responsibility to be engaged citizens.
These are all great points! USPS has its amazing qualities, and chicks sent in the mail is a great example of USPS' service flexibility. But on the owner side of things, every business is different on what they can and can't afford to lose when shipping a product. Live-chick products are not comparable to the fresh-cut flower industry. It takes an entire year, a full season to produce one healthy dahlia tuber. It doesn't take an entire year for a chicken to lay one egg. Their value is so different. You are also offering an example from the end user point of view, not the owner side.
It's really unfortunately, but USPS at this moment cannot provide the same service as UPS, especially when it comes to customer service, discounts, damage claims, speed and insurance. Would it really help if USPS could scale to offer these things, oh yes! And if that were to change, I would adjust our shipping provider immediately. Especially for areas where USPS is the only mail service for over 100 miles. I've always hoped for better USPS infrastructure. Until that can happen, if that ever happens, I'm in a real pickle along with other small rural businesses. And I really thank you for acknowledging that. People need to understand that real change takes a lot of real time to do it right.
My thoughts exactly. Also It is not something that government should come in and interfere with a private company by forcing them to provide a service. Here in Washington Iowa is a couple small business places we can take stuff to be shipped UPS, one is both FedEx and UPS. By doing this they make a little more income for their business. Making lemonade!
Also, the shipping drop off I use scans, gives me tracking label, can add extra ins. if want to. Maybe if enough need this woman could be a shipping location and add income to grow her business?
Hi there! I wish these were all options. We are located in the country, so being a shipping drop point destination is not an options. I also don't want to take on the risk of hosting property I don't own. That would be a great liability to my business and farm.
There are drop points in town where trucks stop daily, like Mahaska Drug. But they can't insure my package while sitting there. So, for a business owner that is not a secure location for product. Damage, theft and not making the trust are all risk factors too costly to calculate with the volume we are shipping. We also can't drop 100 packages at a time to Mahaska Drug, they don't have the storage for that.
Mahaska Drug and other 3rd parties can't print labels now being required by UPS to produce. So, if you only have a scan code, 3rd parties can't print the code by scanning the label. They don't have the bridge tech for that. While I'm thinking about this, it could be a great opportunity for UPS to bridge that offering in rural areas. All in, printing labels and payment for the shipping remains a huge issue.
Thank you so much for all your interest and support! I hope you come to visit the farm in 2025! Xo, Farmer Meredith
I have shipped many things thru these 3rd parties, for example GPS tech equip, like $4,000 display screens used in my farm equipment as well as other items, and never worried for a second about it waiting for the pickup. And I know about what time pickup is. I would think a hundred packages could be justified to make an hr or so trip to where ya feel comfortable.
I totally hear you! Those 3rd parties sound like great options for you, but I can't agree they work in a business model where shipping is a required service need and has to be budgeted.
I'm so sorry that the article did not mention my 15 years of extensive experience in shipping thousands of both USA and internationally bound packages on the platforms of USPS, UPS, FedEx and Custom Freight. That comes with my MBA background, which helps me calculate risk before a single dahlia tuber is grown along with our other products.
As someone who can calculate risk before a dahlia tuber is even grown, the risk of taking an entire year to grow a product that can also die from weather, pests, disease or in winter storage, I can assure you that the risk of leaving packages at third party locations is not worth it for me. Shipping very expensive items via 3rd party is the choice of the customer. But when that package doesn't make the trusk, there's a freak disaster or there's an unforeseen closure in that third party business, one will remember an Iowan farmer saying, "I told you so."
Yes, Dr. Bob is correct. The Mahaska County Chamber did make a couple calls to rural development organizations. But honestly, rural Chambers do not have the time nor the man power to deal with these kinds of issues. They were receptive, but they were not notified of these closings. I'm not sure if any Chamber or City Government in Iowa were notified of all these closures. At least in Oskaloosa and Ottumwa, organizations did not have a clue these changes were in motion until presented by public citizens.
Thank you so much for your support and interest in this article and the farm. Xo, -Meredith
The Ottumwa Chamber wasn't aware that the Ottumwa office closed until Meredith asked them about it. If I remember correctly, the Osky Chamber didn't know what to do. The Mahaska County Board of Supervisors said it wasn't their problem.
As a rural Iowa business owner (Birdwatching Dot Com) and frequent UPS shipper, I find this story alarming. Thank you for your front-lines report.
I've been pondering Meridith's issue with questions and thoughts.
You stated that a scheduled UPS stop is $20. Said takes 100 boxes at a time (i'm guessing not every time). If I understand this from info have that's $0.20/box. When figure driving expense and the time gone from the business this is much more cost effective at least with my pencil. With costs of doing business pretty much going up, figuring in the possible net increase/ item by having scheduled pickup is not much to figure in (with info shared). This is minute compared to increase in property tax on your farm buildings, housing and big increases in farm ins for liability, fire, theft as well as vehicle ins. All has to be figured into the price of product produced as well as cost of commodity's production cost. As I read the shipping info on the website I see NO out of U.S. shipping and u post X amt of days for shipping. Also I gathered u group orders for shipping which I assume would work for scheduled UPS stops. I realize u may have to invest in some tech equipment to do this but u may have certain parts of it already.
In regard to overnight or extra fast shipping, if a customer wants that they no darn well they are going to pay a lot more. Question: what % of shipped orders are time sensitive and how so?
In my humble opinion DON'T dwell on what cannot be changed, instead adapt and overcome. That's all part of being a small business owner and being successful and profitable.
Wish u the best with your business.
THis is a really important issue that is not getting attention. A friend in New Hampshire told me that the UPS near him is closing too (Keene/Swanzey.) This country needs to be more supportive of small businesses. Thanks, Bob, for your good work on this.
When Creston was notified, I immediately contacted all my business friends to see if any of them would be interested in taking on the role that was once supported by the UPS Store in town. And I wouldn’t call it a “store,” just a counter inside the UPS warehouse in Creston. Now, we can still take boxes in there, they just have to be labeled prior to dropping off. However, that can be difficult for residents who don’t understand the technology or lack the equipment.
The UPS bins are OK for envelopes when they aren’t packed to the brim. They don’t appear to be picking up that frequently, either.
The closest UPS place with an employee to help is in Indianola, 47 miles away, and if you live in Bedford Iowa, you’re driving 71 miles and crossing state lines. Crazy.
Thanks for sharing Sarah!
I have been to Meredith’s Barnswallow Flowers business, and I am so sorry this happening to her. It is yet another example of how little regard there is for fostering rural economic development as part of a national agenda. Not sure how Trump privatizes USPS without damaging Amazon’s “last mile “ reliance on it.
Cheryl, I just found this. The "last mile" is being renegotiated. https://apnews.com/article/postal-service-consolidators-last-mile-delivery-df2a6e4d641153f166d31bf607b3108b
It looks like it doesn't apply Amazon. But this is very interesting, Bob! Great digging!
I feel for you...hope something can be worked out. Very hard when you've been dependent on something for so long and have no solid alternatives. Wishing you the best & thx for sharing your story with Dr Bob.
Assuming the facilities themselves are staying open, closing these service centers makes no sense. As noted, the people working there are already performing other work (and would be there, regardless). That means any traffic/revenue/etc. at the counter is not only incremental revenue, but also offsets their fixed costs.
I agree. Hard to believe.
The UPS closed in my town earlier this year. We’re a village in rural VT and now we’ll need to drive 40 minutes farther to get to a UPS. Of course this is a trend
The customers complaining about the decline in service come from counties that supported the MAGA president and MAGA legislators in the last few elections. The customers value White Supremacy, assault weapons, and misogyny more than rural services. There are reasons for the decline in rural county populations. They've made their cake. Let them eat it.
Hi Michael, this is Farmer Meredith Nunnikhoven from Oskaloosa, Iowa. Since the article was written about me and my business, I just wanted to come on here to share some thoughts.
Myself and the farm are not politically affiliated and do not believe in white supremacy, the use of assault weapons and misogyny. We have never promoted or asked for anyone to be or vote a certain way. And we don't value politics over people and our access to rural services.
As someone who has been flower farming for over 15 years, I'm simply asking for a fair chance to run a business in a rural area. Everyone deserves access to basic services, like shipping, in order to build resilience, diverse businesses especially in a rural economy. It's very difficult to come by a large population of customers, as the largest city is almost 60 miles away. For us, this lone shipping service is critical to a small family farm survival. I hope you connect with me and our website at barnswallowflowers.com. We also welcome you to visit the farm and stay at our AirBnB (The Barnswallow Cottage) to learn more about our farm operation. Thank You Kindly, -Farmer Meredith
I feel for u BUT isn't a private company allowed to make business decisions just like ur business? Changes due to operating decisions will always affect someone. I used to get rural mail 6 days a week, now 5 and may go to 4. Some of the mail is time sensitive but I'll adapt.
Of course it is. Never said it wasn't. But consumers can bring pressure.
In this discussion about Meridith I still understand her situation. It does appear she may have to explain to customers and potential customers that she has to increase shipping because of the situation. Sell her self, be honest, play on their sympathy. It's all workable.
Just want to expand here on this...
With the depletion of the modern functionary needs of a proper mail service in USPS, it comes down to myself, a rural no-name farmer, to expose that truly, the entire shipment system is broken. And, this brokenness is unacceptable. USPS filling in the gaps while allowing private companies to not serve critical needs areas is not a sustainable nor a resilient. Everyone loses.
There seems to be a huge misunderstanding by companies like UPS in regards to where rural economics currently are and what type of customers they are serving. It's not just a disappointment, these mindsets are girdling economic opportunity in places where state and federal tax dollars are already being sent and spent to build back rural America from the effects of international offshoring and big-box domination. Doesn't make much sense to me. These decisions are being made that are knowingly killing economic opportunity while at the same time a rural customer, like me, is being asked to just deal with it. There is really good work being done for rural America, which takes a VERY long time in recovery mode to re-establish and rebuild.
I think UPS has a really amazing opportunity here to work with rural business owners and citizens to rebuild infrastructure in a way that actually serves the needed scope. That brown truck has been driving on our farmyard since I was a child. The fleet managers and drivers are the backbone of supporting and understanding rural America. But they also have their limits, especially in time and volume size while battling extreme weather conditions that impact small highways and rock roads.
I feel strongly that there is no way, with the growing shipping volume demand, that our rural UPS fleet can support everyone in SE Iowa efficiently and quickly if all rural critical access stores close. That means days upon days of waiting for a pick up. That means no same-day drop. That mean no paying for a shipping label or scanning a code to produce one. As a country girl, I'm already conditioned to helping companies, like UPS, by driving my package into the store to alleviate this type of pinch. That saves UPS time and money on its end, because I'm willing to participate. After many others and myself have spent a lifetime of helping UPS build its company and support its employees, it has a huge responsibility to help those most critically affected by their decisions.
What a person may think makes economic sense a private company must not and I presume they have the numbers and the data. If there were economic opportunities there they would service it. IF there is an economic opportunity to be had someone else may fill it in. We must adapt.
This doesn’t have anything to do with the topic at hand, but your post was a real blast from the past! Meredith played college softball at Creighton University. I taught her in a Business Statistics course. I remember her as having a very positive attitude and being quite artistic. Thanks for the trip down memory lane.
Meredith is an Iowa treasure.
Thanks, Meredith for sharing your concern..and to Bob for writing on it. I will re-post with a challenge to our Iowa govt officials (Gov and Legislature) to get involved. You and other small businesses have concerns that must be addressed. As I will write below, even major job losses have been invisible to Gov. Reynolds and the legislature.
Our Gov and legislature have been negligent in doing or trying to do anything with layoffs (see below). I am also critical of D's for not raising these issues.
I want to focus on some of the major layoffs in Iowa since 2018, but I should note my knowledge cuts off in April 2024, so there may have been additional significant layoffs after that time.
Some notable layoffs include:
*John Deere (2020) - approximately 100 workers at the Davenport facility
*Wells Fargo (2019-2023) - multiple rounds affecting hundreds of Des Moines area workers with significant cuts in 2023
*TPI Composites (2021) - about 710 workers in Newton when plant closed
*Tyson Foods (2023) - roughly 1,300 workers when two plants closed in Perry and Independence
*Collins Aerospace (2020) - around 72 workers in Cedar Rapids
*SSAB steel mill (2020) - about 110 workers in Montpelier
*Flexsteel (2020) - approximately 213 workers in Dubuque
*META/Facebook (2023) - layoffs at Altoona data center, though exact numbers weren't widely reportedJ
However, I'd recommend verifying these numbers as reporting can vary on exact figures, and some layoffs may have been revised or had workers recalled later.
Wow, small rural businesses have enough problems. And Trump wants to privatize the postal service too. Is FedEx an option for Meredith?
Hi Tim! Just wanted to hop on here. The closest FedEx customer service center is a drop sight at the Ottumwa airport about 30 minutes away. That FedEx can't do Express and can only take pre-labeled packages. Then 60 minutes away in Des Moines. Since we use Shopify as an e-commerce platform for online sales, we also get shipping discounts from their partner UPS. Something our customers really like. Since every penny is critical, this is why UPS is so valuable just 5 minutes away to our small rural businesses.
Great reporting, Bob. I appreciate the comments about what we can do to fix the US Postal Service. I had a great conversation with my postmaster in Jewell the other day. He and his mom used to run the newspaper in Story City, before it was bought out by the Ames Tribune. My stepmom was a postmistress in Spencer. Some super-intelligent folks work for USPS. We ought to listen to them.
I was a little nervous dropping off a high priced item with a prepaid shipping label at the Knoxville UPS drop off near my home. Like the writeup says, no scanning in, no protected storage area for theft prevention (or insurance if stolen before pickup. ) I don’t think there is a notice sent when it’s picked up either.
My best solution would be to bring my shipment just prior to the pickup time or sit in the parking lot and hand it to the driver🙄
A lot of us old timers would be very upset to see the USPS closed . We’re old, but we can vote.
I'm a middle-timer, and would also be very upset to see USPS closed (or worse, privatized). Voting alone is not enough - we have to motivate our friends, neighbors, and beyond to vote with us, too.
I am pondering the connection between the UPS and USPS here, and jumping through some mental hoops...
If I were responsible for UPS global operations, I would be worried about long-term viability... yes CEO compensation is problematic; but also increasing costs of doing business (driver pay, fleet maintenance, etc) while serving declining areas of population in the uncertainty of the coming automated vehicle revolution and competition from the likes of the more vertical Amazon... I find it hard to fault the UPS decision when it shows it will save $3b over some years.
In an attempt to make lemonade from lemons... is there an opportunity for the SERVICE-oriented USPS to add services here to compensate for what USP will no longer offer? Adding higher levels of insurance does not seem like something difficult for the USPS to do, and could offset the cost of maintaining full service in rural areas. That might even appeal to the nut that runs the USPS currently.
I would encourage folks to be talking to their postmasters explaining the needs here, and finding ways to keep USPS services open by spending more dollars there.
Hi Tony! Just wanted to hop on here and provide some input. What's great about USPS is that that the service is an option. However, that service doesn't have the capability to provide a broad amount of service needs created by both company and customer demands.
We do get discounts using UPS though our e-commerce platform called Shopify. With pinching pennies, it's really helping to choose UPS as our main shipping provider. These same discounts are not provided by USPS and FedEx. We would pass this expense off to the customer, but that's not realistic when customers have a choice to buy products elsewhere.
The customer service portion of companies like UPS and FedEx is invaluable and absolutely needed when companies ship specialty goods like perishable plants, tubers, bulbs, etc. If really cold, we can relay that the customer has to sign for the package so it doesn't freeze in someone's mailbox. If the package gets lost, UPS and FedEx have great accountability systems in place to track and find package. They are called custom critical services. USPS does not have these services.
As someone who shipped thousands of packages to date and knows the options, I'm really scared about continuing to operate a business without realistic resources. This is why I called Dr. Bob to help write the article. Thank you so much for your support and interest. I welcome you to visit the farm in 2025! XO, Farmer Meredith
Hi Meredith - thanks for the additional context. I'll note that the USPS has been shipping live chicks for a long time - I've just ordered my next batch of 300 chicks to arrive in mid-February here in central Iowa. If they can handle moving 300 chicks that are 2-days old and getting them to me with a 99% survival rate in probably-freezing temperatures - I'm willing to bet that (perhaps with some additional services), they could accommodate your needs, too.
Certainly the USPS will need to innovate to survive; my main point is that with some real leadership that is service-focused, there's no reason that the USPS can not do many if not all of the things that you need, including discounts in partnership with Shopify. It's a vision thing, not a feasibility thing! I would add that the USPS - if run has a service to our country, instead of a profit center, is far more likely to be able to continue to serve all of the country including the rural areas because they can be subsidized by higher-profit areas. Whereas a for-profit business shuts down low-profit and no-profit areas, a service like the USPS that does not need to generate a profit, can, at least in theory, more viably provide these services. I think it comes down to leadership and values, and that requires voting and motivating others to vote on these important issues.
Change is scary, and it's the only constant in our lives, and for better and worse the pace of change is only increasing. For the sake of our rural communities, I hope we wake up to the power we have to be the government we are, instead of collectively shirking our responsibility to be engaged citizens.
These are all great points! USPS has its amazing qualities, and chicks sent in the mail is a great example of USPS' service flexibility. But on the owner side of things, every business is different on what they can and can't afford to lose when shipping a product. Live-chick products are not comparable to the fresh-cut flower industry. It takes an entire year, a full season to produce one healthy dahlia tuber. It doesn't take an entire year for a chicken to lay one egg. Their value is so different. You are also offering an example from the end user point of view, not the owner side.
It's really unfortunately, but USPS at this moment cannot provide the same service as UPS, especially when it comes to customer service, discounts, damage claims, speed and insurance. Would it really help if USPS could scale to offer these things, oh yes! And if that were to change, I would adjust our shipping provider immediately. Especially for areas where USPS is the only mail service for over 100 miles. I've always hoped for better USPS infrastructure. Until that can happen, if that ever happens, I'm in a real pickle along with other small rural businesses. And I really thank you for acknowledging that. People need to understand that real change takes a lot of real time to do it right.
My thoughts exactly. Also It is not something that government should come in and interfere with a private company by forcing them to provide a service. Here in Washington Iowa is a couple small business places we can take stuff to be shipped UPS, one is both FedEx and UPS. By doing this they make a little more income for their business. Making lemonade!
Also, the shipping drop off I use scans, gives me tracking label, can add extra ins. if want to. Maybe if enough need this woman could be a shipping location and add income to grow her business?
Hi there! I wish these were all options. We are located in the country, so being a shipping drop point destination is not an options. I also don't want to take on the risk of hosting property I don't own. That would be a great liability to my business and farm.
There are drop points in town where trucks stop daily, like Mahaska Drug. But they can't insure my package while sitting there. So, for a business owner that is not a secure location for product. Damage, theft and not making the trust are all risk factors too costly to calculate with the volume we are shipping. We also can't drop 100 packages at a time to Mahaska Drug, they don't have the storage for that.
Mahaska Drug and other 3rd parties can't print labels now being required by UPS to produce. So, if you only have a scan code, 3rd parties can't print the code by scanning the label. They don't have the bridge tech for that. While I'm thinking about this, it could be a great opportunity for UPS to bridge that offering in rural areas. All in, printing labels and payment for the shipping remains a huge issue.
Thank you so much for all your interest and support! I hope you come to visit the farm in 2025! Xo, Farmer Meredith
I have shipped many things thru these 3rd parties, for example GPS tech equip, like $4,000 display screens used in my farm equipment as well as other items, and never worried for a second about it waiting for the pickup. And I know about what time pickup is. I would think a hundred packages could be justified to make an hr or so trip to where ya feel comfortable.
I totally hear you! Those 3rd parties sound like great options for you, but I can't agree they work in a business model where shipping is a required service need and has to be budgeted.
I'm so sorry that the article did not mention my 15 years of extensive experience in shipping thousands of both USA and internationally bound packages on the platforms of USPS, UPS, FedEx and Custom Freight. That comes with my MBA background, which helps me calculate risk before a single dahlia tuber is grown along with our other products.
As someone who can calculate risk before a dahlia tuber is even grown, the risk of taking an entire year to grow a product that can also die from weather, pests, disease or in winter storage, I can assure you that the risk of leaving packages at third party locations is not worth it for me. Shipping very expensive items via 3rd party is the choice of the customer. But when that package doesn't make the trusk, there's a freak disaster or there's an unforeseen closure in that third party business, one will remember an Iowan farmer saying, "I told you so."
I wonder what chambers are doing about this.
Yes, Dr. Bob is correct. The Mahaska County Chamber did make a couple calls to rural development organizations. But honestly, rural Chambers do not have the time nor the man power to deal with these kinds of issues. They were receptive, but they were not notified of these closings. I'm not sure if any Chamber or City Government in Iowa were notified of all these closures. At least in Oskaloosa and Ottumwa, organizations did not have a clue these changes were in motion until presented by public citizens.
Thank you so much for your support and interest in this article and the farm. Xo, -Meredith
The Ottumwa Chamber wasn't aware that the Ottumwa office closed until Meredith asked them about it. If I remember correctly, the Osky Chamber didn't know what to do. The Mahaska County Board of Supervisors said it wasn't their problem.