Venerable seed company in last-ditch bid to survive

When Barbara Melera took over the struggling D. Landreth Seed Co. in 2003, she was determined to turn it around. And she did.

With about $1 million borrowed from 20 friends and family members, and two outsider investors, she overhauled the company. It's finally turning a profit.

Even so, the nation's oldest seed house, which dates to 1784 and counted as customers every president from George Washington to FDR, is in trouble. While friends and family are waiting it out, the two outside investors, who lent $250,000 and $175,000, want to be paid back, and the money isn't there.

Debt could take this historic house down, but not without a fight from Melera. She's working 18 hours a day, frenetically trying to raise money to save Landreth, which is based in New Freedom, Pa., near the Maryland border.

"I knew this was a big undertaking," she says. "I'm not going to give up."

The crisis surfaced in May 2010, when investor Liz King of Petaluma, Calif., sued to recover her $250,000; the note was due at the end of 2009. A Baltimore judge ruled in her favor and, on Aug. 30 of this year, froze Landreth's accounts.

Without a reprieve, Melera says she cannot keep the business going beyond Friday.

Her immediate goal is to raise $150,000 to $175,000 by then from seed sales and advance orders for the 100-page, 2012 catalog. The hope is that this will persuade the two outside investors to negotiate payment schedules and allow Landreth to continue operating.

King could not be reached and Melera would not name the second investor, whom she expects will sue Landreth as well. King's attorney, John R. Wise, declined comment beyond this: "Generally, these days, when one person sues another for collection of a debt, it's an absolute last resort."

Melera's overall goal is to sell one million catalogs - at $5 each - to pay off all debts, plus interest and taxes, catalog printing, and mailing costs. So far, relying heavily on Facebook to get the message out and on some employees forgoing paychecks, Melera has raised about $70,000 from supporters as far away as Greece.

"I'm encouraged," she says, "but I'm also realistic."

Melera had hoped to "convince some big bank or American Express or a company like John Deere to say, 'OK, we're going to buy 10,000 or 50,000 of these educational catalogs and send them to our customers,' " she says, "but it hasn't happened."