2 Westmoreland men accused of causing $2,500 damage to Somerset soybean fields

Two Westmoreland County men are accused by state police of driving four-wheelers through Somerset County soybean fields last month, causing $2,500 in damage.

The two men, both 19, from Irwin and Jeannette, were not named in a news release about the Sept. 3 incident.

Troopers said the pair drove onto two properties in the New Berry Road area of Addison Township. They were confronted by the property owners who were unsuccessful in stopping the damage.

The two men and four-wheelers were later found at a nearby campsite and they admitted to driving through the fields, according to state police. They are facing agricultural criminal mischief charges though none had been filed as of Wednesday.

The rural township is south of Confluence and touches Pennsylvania’s border with Maryland. New Berry Road is just off Route 40 and runs along Youghiogheny River Lake.

Soybeans can be a popular cash crop for thousands of Pennsylvania farmers and also a food source for dairy cattle, according to Penn State Extension. Officials evaluated 88 corn and soybean fields statewide this year and reported that the typical planting date for soybeans was in mid-May, give or take a few weeks. The average number of soybean pods per acre on those sites was 5.3 million.

The crop is typically harvested later in October, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.