Image submitted by Foods of the Fundy Valley. Written by David Jonah, Pleasant Vale, Local Writer & Agriculture Enthusiast
Submitted by Megan Mace, Coordinator, Foods of the Fundy Valley
foodsofthefundyvalley.ca
www.facebook.com/FoodsOfTheFundyValley
In the rolling hills of Pleasant Vale, where apple orchards once dotted the landscape and farming families carved out their livelihoods from Albert County soil, a new chapter in agricultural history is quietly taking root.
John Noseworthy and Marie Josee Loyer, the husband-and-wife team behind Loriella Farm, are proving that with dedication, vision, and respect for the land, it's possible to breathe new life into dormant farmland while honouring both the past and the future.
Their story begins not with generations of farming knowledge, but with a leap of faith and a deep love for the natural world around them.
When the couple moved to Pleasant Vale in 2020, they found themselves stewards of a 350-acre property rich in history and untapped potential.
What started as Marie's search for work after being laid off became the foundation for something much larger: a thriving business that celebrates native plants, environmental stewardship, and community connection.
Submitted by Megan Mace, Coordinator, Foods of the Fundy Valley
foodsofthefundyvalley.ca
www.facebook.com/FoodsOfTheFundyValley
In the rolling hills of Pleasant Vale, where apple orchards once dotted the landscape and farming families carved out their livelihoods from Albert County soil, a new chapter in agricultural history is quietly taking root.
John Noseworthy and Marie Josee Loyer, the husband-and-wife team behind Loriella Farm, are proving that with dedication, vision, and respect for the land, it's possible to breathe new life into dormant farmland while honouring both the past and the future.
Their story begins not with generations of farming knowledge, but with a leap of faith and a deep love for the natural world around them.
When the couple moved to Pleasant Vale in 2020, they found themselves stewards of a 350-acre property rich in history and untapped potential.
What started as Marie's search for work after being laid off became the foundation for something much larger: a thriving business that celebrates native plants, environmental stewardship, and community connection.
Image of Loriella Farm submitted by Foods of the Fundy Valley. A Name Rooted in Love and Memory
The farm's name, Loriella, carries a deeply personal story.
"That's my late sister's name," John explains with evident warmth. "She passed away 20 years ago, but she loved wildflowers." His sister Lori had a passion for native plants that manifested in small, meaningful ways: gifts of wildflower seeds, wedding favours featuring tiny pots of wildflower seeds for guests to take home and plant. When Marie suggested honouring Lori's memory through the farm's name, combining her first name with her middle name, Ella, it felt perfectly right."
The decision resonated beyond the couple's hearts.
John's nephew, who was only an infant when his mother passed, is now twenty and beginning to explore his family heritage, and he was thrilled to have his mother's memory kept alive through the farm. "It makes him feel good," John notes. "So it's made me feel really good. It made it fit a little bit more, so we decided to go with Loriella Farm."
From Dream to Reality
The transition from newcomers to active farmers wasn't planned, but it unfolded naturally.
John is a retired military veteran, and Marie studied interior decoration and veterinary assistance. They shared a dream in reinventing themselves while living more simply.
After Marie lost her job, the couple took a pragmatic approach to reinventing their future.
"Marie got her resume together and we went cold calling all in this whole area around Salisbury, Petitcodiac," John recalls. "We dropped off resumes at every farm we could see that looked like it had people working there."
Marie eventually found work at a flower nursery outside Moncton, where she discovered a passion for plant cultivation. Meanwhile, living on their beautiful property sparked conversations about possibilities.
"We just started talking, maybe we can sell trees. We have lots of them on the farm," John remembers. The idea grew organically from there. Why not work with what they already had?
Their first year was beautifully simple: a roadside table featuring plants they'd carefully dug from their woods. The response from neighbours and passersby was encouraging enough to inspire expansion.
Used greenhouses were acquired from Facebook Marketplace, followed by piece-by-piece equipment acquisition and gradual infrastructure development.
"We just kind of started putting some things together with some used equipment," John explains. "And piece by piece, we started coming together, and it seems to be catching some traction."
Working With Nature, Not Against It
What sets Loriella Farm apart is its commitment to working with its land's natural assets. Of their 350 acres, they currently cultivate about five to six acres intensively, but their vision extends throughout the property.
"We hope to manage the forest that we have well enough so that we can draw inventory from our forested acres," John explains. Their approach involves bringing forest plants to their roadside growing areas, nurturing them, and preparing them for customers who want to enhance their properties with native species.
This philosophy extends to their water management strategies, critical during recent dry seasons. Water retention and management strategy implementation was a takeaway learning from the large-scale operations they visited in Ontario and Quebec.
John and Marie are developing water retention systems using their property's natural springs. "People build these ponds on different tiered levels, and they retain the water and slowly seep water throughout the whole property," John describes. "They're turning just dust bowls into these beautiful, lush areas just by landscaping."
Reviving Albert County's Apple Heritage
Perhaps most significantly, Loriella Farm is working to restore apple orchards that date back to the late 1800s. The property includes about 30 mature trees from the original homestead orchard, plus another 100 trees planted in the 1970s that have since been overtaken by forest growth.
This restoration work connects directly to Albert County's rich agricultural history—during the 1950s, the county was one of the top apple-producing regions in the Maritimes.
"Apple trees seem to be everywhere around this valley," John observes. Local resident Dennis Shaffer, who grew up on the property decades ago, shared memories of his mother storing apple preserves in the stone basement, managing different varieties, and relying on apples as a dietary staple.
These stories inspire John as he works among the old trees: "People survived on this, you know, as part of their livelihood or as their staple diet. And I think it's kind of neat to work on it in this day and age."
Building Community Connections
Loriella Farm's success extends beyond plant sales. The couple has developed partnerships with organizations like the Petitcodiac Watershed Alliance, providing plants and volunteer labour for rain gardens in Dieppe and Moncton. These projects demonstrate how native plants can serve broader environmental purposes, helping with water retention and ecosystem health.
Their roadside stand has become a community gathering point, introducing them to neighbours they might never have met otherwise.
"People are stopping in and saying, oh, I've been wanting to stop in and see what's going on here," John notes. "I believe everybody that's stopped in has bought a plant or something from us, and they love the idea of what we're doing, and they're spreading the awareness."
The farm also offers primitive camping experiences for visitors seeking to disconnect from modern conveniences and reconnect with nature. With sites near the road and deeper in the forest, including restoration of an old cabin site with existing well and septic infrastructure, they're creating opportunities for others to experience the serenity that drew them to Pleasant Vale.
A Farming Couple Looking Forward
Five years into their farming journey, John and Marie continue expanding thoughtfully.
Marie is developing a print-on-demand t-shirt business featuring wildflower themes, both to promote awareness of native plants and to support the farm financially. They're also building an online presence through a Shopify site for the print-on-demand T-Shirts and Hipcamp for camping reservations. Plant sales are available at the roadside farm store, or when they attend local markets in the area.
Their approach remains rooted in sustainability and authenticity. Rather than buying inventory to resell, they prefer growing from their own stock: seeds, cuttings, and naturally occurring seedlings from their forest.
"I love the idea of having our own stock," John emphasizes. "There are so many beautiful little trees growing that are already seedlings that we don't have to start."
As newcomers to both farming and business ownership, they acknowledge the learning curves while celebrating their community's warm reception.
"We're outsiders coming into a small community and trying to build a business. Sometimes it's not welcome, but we were pretty lucky," John reflects. "People have been amazing."
A Model for Rural Renaissance
Loriella Farm represents more than just a successful business transition; it's a model for how newcomers can honour a region's agricultural heritage while adapting to contemporary needs and environmental challenges.
By focusing on native species, sustainable practices, and community engagement, John and Marie are proving that farming can be both economically viable and environmentally responsible.
Their story resonates particularly strongly in an era when consumers increasingly value local products, environmental stewardship, and authentic connections to the land.
As John notes, "I guess we are on pace with maybe today's society or the world, where people are coming together and realizing the importance of these wildflowers, native trees, and shrubs in so many different ways."
In Pleasant Vale, where farming settlements first took root in the 1840s, Loriella Farm is writing the next chapter of agricultural innovation, one native plant, one restored apple tree, and one satisfied customer at a time.
Their success offers hope and inspiration for others seeking to build sustainable livelihoods while caring for the land that sustains us all.
Loriella Farm is a member of the Foods of the Fundy Valley network.
The farm's name, Loriella, carries a deeply personal story.
"That's my late sister's name," John explains with evident warmth. "She passed away 20 years ago, but she loved wildflowers." His sister Lori had a passion for native plants that manifested in small, meaningful ways: gifts of wildflower seeds, wedding favours featuring tiny pots of wildflower seeds for guests to take home and plant. When Marie suggested honouring Lori's memory through the farm's name, combining her first name with her middle name, Ella, it felt perfectly right."
The decision resonated beyond the couple's hearts.
John's nephew, who was only an infant when his mother passed, is now twenty and beginning to explore his family heritage, and he was thrilled to have his mother's memory kept alive through the farm. "It makes him feel good," John notes. "So it's made me feel really good. It made it fit a little bit more, so we decided to go with Loriella Farm."
From Dream to Reality
The transition from newcomers to active farmers wasn't planned, but it unfolded naturally.
John is a retired military veteran, and Marie studied interior decoration and veterinary assistance. They shared a dream in reinventing themselves while living more simply.
After Marie lost her job, the couple took a pragmatic approach to reinventing their future.
"Marie got her resume together and we went cold calling all in this whole area around Salisbury, Petitcodiac," John recalls. "We dropped off resumes at every farm we could see that looked like it had people working there."
Marie eventually found work at a flower nursery outside Moncton, where she discovered a passion for plant cultivation. Meanwhile, living on their beautiful property sparked conversations about possibilities.
"We just started talking, maybe we can sell trees. We have lots of them on the farm," John remembers. The idea grew organically from there. Why not work with what they already had?
Their first year was beautifully simple: a roadside table featuring plants they'd carefully dug from their woods. The response from neighbours and passersby was encouraging enough to inspire expansion.
Used greenhouses were acquired from Facebook Marketplace, followed by piece-by-piece equipment acquisition and gradual infrastructure development.
"We just kind of started putting some things together with some used equipment," John explains. "And piece by piece, we started coming together, and it seems to be catching some traction."
Working With Nature, Not Against It
What sets Loriella Farm apart is its commitment to working with its land's natural assets. Of their 350 acres, they currently cultivate about five to six acres intensively, but their vision extends throughout the property.
"We hope to manage the forest that we have well enough so that we can draw inventory from our forested acres," John explains. Their approach involves bringing forest plants to their roadside growing areas, nurturing them, and preparing them for customers who want to enhance their properties with native species.
This philosophy extends to their water management strategies, critical during recent dry seasons. Water retention and management strategy implementation was a takeaway learning from the large-scale operations they visited in Ontario and Quebec.
John and Marie are developing water retention systems using their property's natural springs. "People build these ponds on different tiered levels, and they retain the water and slowly seep water throughout the whole property," John describes. "They're turning just dust bowls into these beautiful, lush areas just by landscaping."
Reviving Albert County's Apple Heritage
Perhaps most significantly, Loriella Farm is working to restore apple orchards that date back to the late 1800s. The property includes about 30 mature trees from the original homestead orchard, plus another 100 trees planted in the 1970s that have since been overtaken by forest growth.
This restoration work connects directly to Albert County's rich agricultural history—during the 1950s, the county was one of the top apple-producing regions in the Maritimes.
"Apple trees seem to be everywhere around this valley," John observes. Local resident Dennis Shaffer, who grew up on the property decades ago, shared memories of his mother storing apple preserves in the stone basement, managing different varieties, and relying on apples as a dietary staple.
These stories inspire John as he works among the old trees: "People survived on this, you know, as part of their livelihood or as their staple diet. And I think it's kind of neat to work on it in this day and age."
Building Community Connections
Loriella Farm's success extends beyond plant sales. The couple has developed partnerships with organizations like the Petitcodiac Watershed Alliance, providing plants and volunteer labour for rain gardens in Dieppe and Moncton. These projects demonstrate how native plants can serve broader environmental purposes, helping with water retention and ecosystem health.
Their roadside stand has become a community gathering point, introducing them to neighbours they might never have met otherwise.
"People are stopping in and saying, oh, I've been wanting to stop in and see what's going on here," John notes. "I believe everybody that's stopped in has bought a plant or something from us, and they love the idea of what we're doing, and they're spreading the awareness."
The farm also offers primitive camping experiences for visitors seeking to disconnect from modern conveniences and reconnect with nature. With sites near the road and deeper in the forest, including restoration of an old cabin site with existing well and septic infrastructure, they're creating opportunities for others to experience the serenity that drew them to Pleasant Vale.
A Farming Couple Looking Forward
Five years into their farming journey, John and Marie continue expanding thoughtfully.
Marie is developing a print-on-demand t-shirt business featuring wildflower themes, both to promote awareness of native plants and to support the farm financially. They're also building an online presence through a Shopify site for the print-on-demand T-Shirts and Hipcamp for camping reservations. Plant sales are available at the roadside farm store, or when they attend local markets in the area.
Their approach remains rooted in sustainability and authenticity. Rather than buying inventory to resell, they prefer growing from their own stock: seeds, cuttings, and naturally occurring seedlings from their forest.
"I love the idea of having our own stock," John emphasizes. "There are so many beautiful little trees growing that are already seedlings that we don't have to start."
As newcomers to both farming and business ownership, they acknowledge the learning curves while celebrating their community's warm reception.
"We're outsiders coming into a small community and trying to build a business. Sometimes it's not welcome, but we were pretty lucky," John reflects. "People have been amazing."
A Model for Rural Renaissance
Loriella Farm represents more than just a successful business transition; it's a model for how newcomers can honour a region's agricultural heritage while adapting to contemporary needs and environmental challenges.
By focusing on native species, sustainable practices, and community engagement, John and Marie are proving that farming can be both economically viable and environmentally responsible.
Their story resonates particularly strongly in an era when consumers increasingly value local products, environmental stewardship, and authentic connections to the land.
As John notes, "I guess we are on pace with maybe today's society or the world, where people are coming together and realizing the importance of these wildflowers, native trees, and shrubs in so many different ways."
In Pleasant Vale, where farming settlements first took root in the 1840s, Loriella Farm is writing the next chapter of agricultural innovation, one native plant, one restored apple tree, and one satisfied customer at a time.
Their success offers hope and inspiration for others seeking to build sustainable livelihoods while caring for the land that sustains us all.
Loriella Farm is a member of the Foods of the Fundy Valley network.
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