Macon County hunters who want to give a deer to Missouri's Share the Harvest program this fall will have to leave the county to do it, according to the Missouri Department of Conservation's list of participating meat processors.
The department's online processor lookup showed no Share the Harvest processor in Macon County as of Monday. The program runs through approved processors, which take a whole field-dressed deer, process the meat, and send it to food banks and pantries.
Four of the county's seven neighbors have no participating processor either: Adair, Knox, Chariton, and Randolph, according to the lookup.
The closest options are in Linn, Monroe, and Shelby counties. MDC lists two in Linn County: Greenhills Fresh Meats, 26700 Highway 11, St. Catherine, and HillTop Processing, 14169 Highway PP, New Boston. Monroe County has T & S Butcher Shop, 21257 Monroe Road 285, Paris, and Shelby County has Parsons Custom Processing, 3305 Shelby 263, Shelbyville. Greenhills is the only one of the four that MDC lists with after-hours drop-off. The department tells hunters to call processors to check hours and availability.
The program is trying to grow. MDC said in an Oct. 23 release that Share the Harvest has averaged about 5,000 donated deer a year in recent seasons, about 250,000 pounds of venison. The goal is 6,500 deer this season and 10,000 in 2027.
"Over the past year, we've listened to hunters, meat processors, and other partners to identify ways to make Share the Harvest easier and more accessible," Jake Hindman, the department's Share the Harvest expansion coordinator, said in the release. "This season as a program network, we're piloting new donation options such as refrigerated coolers at select locations for more convenient drop-offs, eliminating required hunter donation fees, and increasing processor reimbursements."
Donating is free for hunters, according to MDC. A hunter fills out a short form at the processor, and program funding and sponsors cover the processing. People who need venison can ask their local food bank or pantry whether it has any, the department said.
Nearly 800,000 Missourians faced food insecurity in 2025, according to the release.
"Share the Harvest brings together Missouri's hunting and conservation traditions with an opportunity to help our neighbors in need," Hindman said.
Donated deer killed in counties within 10 miles of a confirmed chronic wasting disease case are tested before the meat is given out, MDC said. The department said the testing is meant to protect the families who receive the meat, not to track the disease. New this year, the program will record the county where a donated deer was killed rather than the exact location.
Macon County has had CWD-positive deer as recently as the 2025 permit year, when MDC found two, the Chronicle reported Oct. 22.
The county's hunters checked 4,525 deer last season, seventh in the state, according to MDC figures the Chronicle reported Oct. 22. The November portion of firearms season runs Nov. 14-24.
Missouri hunters started the program in 1992, and it has given out more than 6 million pounds of venison since then, according to MDC. The department runs it with the Conservation Federation of Missouri, the Missouri Association of Meat Processors, and Feeding Missouri.
Hunters can also give money when they buy a permit or through the Conservation Federation at confedmo.org/share-the-harvest. The processor list is at mdc.mo.gov/hunting-trapping/species/deer/share-harvest/share-harvest-meat-processor-lookup.