HARRISBURG, PA – In continuing joint efforts to provide solutions surrounding wildlife crop damage, the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, Pennsylvania Game Commission, Pennsylvania Farm Bureau, and Hunters Sharing the Harvest held their third town hall meeting on Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2026, at the Great American Outdoor Show in Harrisburg to share updates, including more opportunities for hunters, landowners, and farmers to work together.
The panel featured Pennsylvania Secretary of Agriculture Russell Redding, Pennsylvania Game Commission Deputy Executive Director Dave Gustafson and Landowner Engagement and Hunting Access Manager Tyler Strohecker, Pennsylvania Farm Bureau President Chris Hoffman, and Hunters Sharing the Harvest Executive Director Randy Ferguson.
This was the third public meeting between this group of stakeholders, the previous two were held in 2025 in response to urgent concerns and reports of increased deer pressure on agriculture crops across the state. Farmers and landowners in many cases depend on hunters to manage deer on their properties and limit crop losses, in turn providing hunters with opportunities to hunt and fill tags.
“Wildlife belongs to all residents of the Commonwealth,” said Game Commission Deputy Executive Director Dave Gustafson. “Due to the work and support of this group, the Game Commission has been able to implement creative and successful pathways to address wildlife crop damage, while keeping hunters on the front lines of managing healthy wildlife populations. From expanding Sunday Hunting opportunities, to working to expand more statewide opportunities for our Certified Hunter Program and Agricultural Deer Control Program, we’ve accomplished a lot in a little more than a year’s time.”
Act 36 of 2025 repealed the ban on Sunday hunting in Pennsylvania and gave the Game Commission full authorization to provide Sunday hunting opportunities. In the 2025-26 hunting season, 13 Sundays were open to deer hunters to fill tags. With many farmers relying on hunters to help manage deer on their properties, the additional hunting opportunities are mutually beneficial.
“When wildlife pressures threaten farm viability, collaboration is the solution,” said Pennsylvania Secretary of Agriculture Russell Redding. “From updating Pennsylvania’s Sunday hunting law to investing additional funding to get venison into our food banks, the Shapiro administration is partnering with the PGC to deliver real, commonsense solutions that support farmers, expand opportunities for hunters, and help feed Pennsylvanians in need. By bringing farmers, landowners, hunters, and conservation partners to the same table, we’re protecting crops, strengthening our agricultural economy, and ensuring working farms remain viable for generations to come.”
The Game Commission is continuing its work to expand programs to help farmers and landowners better meet their deer management goals. At its meeting on Jan. 24, 2026, the Pennsylvania Board of Game Commissioners voted to preliminarily approve regulations to guide the agency’s Certified Hunter Program, which connects hunters and landowners as a means of addressing crop-damage concerns. The program launched last year in the Southwest Region and is expected to expand statewide in 2026.
The board also preliminarily voted at its January meeting to expand the Agricultural Deer Control Program, commonly known as the Ag Tag program. The program enables landowners to enlist the aid of hunters in removing antlerless deer from agricultural lands. If approved, hunters would be able to use any devices authorized for hunting deer in the regular firearms season during the Ag Tag season. Additionally, the limit was removed on the number of Ag Tags a hunter can receive. The preliminarily approved regulations for both the expansion of the Certified Hunter Program and the Ag Tag Program will be brought back up to the board’s April meeting for a final vote.
“Pennsylvania Farm Bureau is thankful for the opportunity to continue working alongside the Pennsylvania Game Commission to find equitable solutions to mitigate crop damage, and to have more tools and resources available to our farmers to improve their operations,” said Pennsylvania Farm Bureau President Chris Hoffman. “We greatly appreciate the collaborative efforts that led to legislation that was signed into law last year to help farmers combat crop damage. We are also elated to be able to continue to collaborate with the Pennsylvania Game Commission on the development of the Certified Hunter Program. These discussions are vital to finding adequate solutions to wildlife issues that our farmers face every day. We are excited to continue to partner with industry stakeholders to drive meaningful change to allow our farmers to thrive.”
Due, in part, to the increased opportunities for hunters to fill tags, Hunters Sharing the Harvest has continued to see record breaking numbers of venison being donated through cooperating processors across the state. During the 2024-25 season, hunters set an all-time high venison donation record with 283,789 pounds donated from 7,855 deer. That equates to approximately 1.1 million servings of lean, nutritious venison being shared with food-insecure Pennsylvanians.
In fiscal year 2025/26, the Game Commission has provided a total of $250,000 to Hunters Sharing the Harvest, including $150,000 in new funds to support an increased need for deer processing for deer harvested through the Agricultural Deer Control Program and organizational capacity building.
Governor Josh Shapiro’s bipartisan 2025-26 budget invested $500,000 to support the program through the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture’s Bureau of Food Assistance. These funds support the processing and transport of donated venison to food banks, food pantries, and other charitable feeding organizations throughout the Commonwealth. This funding comes at a critical time, as food prices remain high, and food banks across Pennsylvania continue to report increased demand, and federal funding has significantly decreased. The Shapiro administration has responded swiftly to protect food access and security in the Commonwealth, ranging from legal actions protecting farmers to issuing a disaster declaration, directing $5 million for the immediate purchase of food through the PASS program to support food banks serving all 67 counties.
“Hunters Sharing the Harvest exists at the intersection of wildlife management and food security,” said Hunters Sharing the Harvest Executive Director Randy Ferguson. “When hunters help farmers manage deer populations, they’re not only protecting crops, they are providing millions of servings of nutritious venison to Pennsylvanians in need. This partnership ensures conservation, agriculture, and community all benefit.”
The panel answered questions from hunters and people in attendance, both live and watching online. To view the town hall meeting, visit the Pennsylvania Game Commission’s YouTube channel.