Beaver County farmer convicted of killing birds with poison corn

A Beaver County farmer has been convicted of using corn mixed with a pesticide to kill migratory birds that were near his crops.

A news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Pittsburgh on Friday said District Judge W. Scott Hardy convicted Robert Yost, 52, of New Galilee, and his employee, Jacob Reese, 27, of Enon Valley.

Prosecutors said that in June 2020 Yost, the operator of Yost Farms in New Galilee, and Reese used the pesticide carbofuran mixed with whole kernel corn around a leased field used for soybean cultivation.

“The tainted corn attracted protected migratory birds that were killed within a short distance of where they ingested the corn,” the release said.

The men were further accused of trying to cover up their actions by destroying the feed bag.

“In total, Yost and Reese were responsible for killing approximately 17 Canada geese, 10 red-winged blackbirds, and one mallard duck,” the release said, adding that the men denied responsibility to state officials investigating the bird deaths.

“Robert Yost and Jacob Reese used corn laced with an extremely toxic, banned pesticide to poison over two dozen migratory birds,” said U.S. Attorney Olshan in the news release. “The defendants’ indiscriminate criminal conduct also put the safety and health of the farm’s neighbors — including small children and a man suffering from Alzheimer’s disease — at risk.”

The Environmental Protection Agency in 2009 deemed carbofuran unacceptable for dietary, worker and ecological uses.

The EPA, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Pennsylvania Game Commission conducted the investig a t i o n leading to the charges with assistance from the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture.

Yost and Reese face up to 13 months in prison and a total fine of $31,000. Judge Hardy set sentencing for May.