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Kahoka, MO -- Missouri's firearms deer season opened this weekend with a bang as Governor Jay Nixon joined in the hunt to help feed the hungry.
Nixon stopped by Kahoka Meat Processing and Deli on Saturday after doing some morning hunting in Clark County.
He discussed the expansion of the Share the Harvest program which lets deer hunters share their venison with people in need of a meal.
Last year, almost 4,700 Missouri hunters donated almost 263,000 pounds of venison through the program.
But in recent years, it's had to cap the amount of deer it can accept because of limited finances.
Nixon says the $200,000 added in tax credits toward the program will increase its annual collection of venison by more than 75 percent over the next three years.
"Share the Harvest is a real win, win, win for Missouri. First of all, the sportsmen who want to share their harvest can not only get their bucks, but get does also. Secondly, we have a real demand for high protein in our food banks. And third, it helps the conservation department and our conservation commission here in Missouri manage our deer herd so we can continue to have strong, healthy deer all through the state of Missouri," said Gov. Nixon.
Over the next three years Share the Harvest looks to expand from 125 processors last season to 135; boost the number of deer processed from 4,729 annually to 8,169, and increase the pounds of venison distributed from 265,138 to 457,464 a year.
Kahoka Meat Processing and Deli has participated in Share the Harvest since the program began in 1992.
More participating meat processors are listed on the Missouri Web site at www.mo.gov
