Beaver County farmers found guilty of killing over nearly 30 birds with toxic pesticide

BEAVER COUNTY, Pa. — A Beaver County farm operator and his employee were found guilty on three counts of unlawful killing of migratory birds.

Robert Yost, 52, of New Galilee, and Jacob Reese, 27, of Enon Valley, conspired to kill migratory birds that were on leased farmland operated by Yost Farms in June 2020, the Department of Justice said.

In total, Yost and Reese were responsible for killing around 17 Canada geese, 10 red-winged blackbirds and one mallard duck, officials said.

Investigators said Yost, the operator of the business, and Reese, one of his employees, conspired to kill the birds with carbofuran, which is a registered restricted-use pesticide.

Yost told Reese to spread whole kernel corn covered in carbofuran in and around the field, which was used for soybean cultivation and accessible to children, investigators said. The corn attracted the protected birds, which were found dead a short distance from where they ingested the food.

“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 Eric Olshan. “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. Protecting wildlife and the people who live in our communities from the illicit use of dangerous chemicals is, and will remain, a priority of this office and our dedicated partners in state and local law enforcement.”

The Department of Justice said Yost and Reese then concealed their efforts to poison and kill the birds, including destroying the feed bag with the tainted corn. They also lied about their use of the corn to kill the birds to the Pennsylvania Game Commission and Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture.

“The deliberate application of a highly toxic pesticide, whose use is restricted due to the unreasonable risks to public health and the environment, threatened the health and well-being of the community and the children who played in the poison area, and resulted in the intentional killing of numerous migratory birds,” said EPA-CID Acting Special Agent in Charge Allison Landsman. “The conviction of Robert Yost and Jacob Reese demonstrates EPA’s resolve to vigorously, with its federal and state partners, investigate, prosecute, and hold accountable those who criminally apply toxic pesticides and target species protected under federal law.”

Sentencing hearings for both Yost and Reese are scheduled for May 29.

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