Georgia Today: Federal furlough could affect peanut industry; Senate passes trans athlete ban

Orlando Montoya: Hello and welcome to the Georgia Today podcast from GPB News. Today is Friday, Feb. 7. I'm Orlando Montoya. On today's episode, a furlough of some federal workers going into effect today could affect Georgia's peanut industry. And the state Senate passes a bill banning transgender girls from school sports.

Kim Jackson: I am more clear than ever today that my colleagues are not invested in truly leveling the playing field for girls sports.

Orlando Montoya: These stories and more coming up on this edition of Georgia Today.

Story 1:

Orlando Montoya: Thousands of workers at the U.S. Agency for International Development or USAID, are being furloughed starting today. It's part of the new Trump administration's plans to dismantle the agency amid unprecedented efforts at cutting the federal budget. Across South Georgia, many are watching the move for its potential impact on Georgia's peanut economy. A company based in Fitzgerald says it buys 2 million pounds of peanuts each month to make a nutrition aid funded largely by USAID. That company is called Mana Nutrition. And this morning I spoke with its CEO, Mark Moore, about USAID. I first asked him to describe his company's product.

Mark Moore: We make a special peanut butter paste that is called Ready to Use Therapeutic Food. It's a treatment for severely malnourished children. So children, Orlando, who are malnourished oftentimes are not hungry. They've ceased to be hungry because their body faced such nutritional deficiencies. So this — this paste restores them back to hunger, gives them the the right micronutrients, the energy, the calories that they need, and sort of brings them back to a — to a normal state so they could go on and get on with life.

Orlando Montoya: I've heard it been described as peanut butter on steroids. Can you explain that?

Mark Moore: That's right, yeah. I guess by food science, people don't like the steroids associated with it. But yeah, so it really is. The cool thing about it is there is this milk powder almost like an infant formula that needs to be delivered to children. But you can imagine if you're in South Sudan or you're a mom in Ethiopia and you don't have access to fresh water necessarily, or you don't have access to a fridge, reconstituting something like an infant formula is problematic. But if you can stabilize it in something gooey like peanut butter, then it has a long shelf life. You get the added benefits of the — the nutritious value of the peanuts. And it's a win-win.

Orlando Montoya: And a side question, what does it taste like?

Mark Moore: It tastes like the inside of a Reese's peanut butter cup. It's super dense. So you and I as adults might eat a packet and say, "Wow, that was really good." But you wouldn't want to eat 10 packets because it'll make you gain weight. But for little kids who, again, are — we're trying to restore the vital nutrients and energy that they need? It's the perfect — it's the perfect thing.

Orlando Montoya: And how would USAID cuts or its elimination affect you and this work?

Mark Moore: We don't know yet. We do know that we received a stop work order about a week ago from USAID. This is all funded through a mechanism called Title II. And Title II funding is emergency food aid funding. So that was supposed to not be stopped, but it seems there was some confusion in the midst and we were stopped for about a week. We never really stopped because we have multiple contracts, so we just kept going. But it was nervous, there, for — we were nervous there for a week trying to decide is USAID going to come back? Are they going to honor contracts, things like that? Yesterday at 3:30 p.m., we got an email from our contracting officer saying you can start working on these projects. So they are — we are making it again. And it's it's being stacked up in a warehouse and we'll see what the supply chain looks like with USAID losing so many people. I'm sure you saw the media this morning. They went from 10,000 employees to 290.

Orlando Montoya: So that might affect you regardless of whether or not there is or is not money coming, future?

Mark Moore: Yeah, I would say it has to affect us. There are just too many moving parts at USAID for such a drastic cutback to not have some effect. We I can't — I can't say specifically what it would be.

Orlando Montoya: And does this introduce a significant amount of worry in your team? Or how are you presenting this to everybody that you're talking to?

Mark Moore: So far, we have decided that we will remain optimistic and keep working. And we do this. We're a nonprofit, so we — we're not looking to make money, but we do really love our jobs. And we have 130 of us working at Mana, who — it is our livelihood, but more than that, it's our passion to do it. So outside of USAID, there is UNICEF, there are many NGOs. This stuff that we make is in such short supply. So will we be solvent? Yeah, that's a question going forward. But will our product be needed? We know it's going to be needed. So we're not dismayed yet. We're not discouraged yet. We're going to keep going and find a way forward. It's too important to just sit around and sort of indulge ourselves in feeling sorry for ourselves. We're going to get it done.

Orlando Montoya: It's important for the world and important to South Georgia. I dare say, Mana Nutrition is one of the biggest companies in Fitzgerald and probably has a huge economic impact around South Georgia. Have you measured that?

Mark Moore: You know, I'm sure I would quote inaccurate stats, but we're one of the top employers now in our little town. You know, Fitzgerald is a great town, but not a big town and peanuts all around us. So if you walk out of our factory door, the plot across the street rotates between cotton and peanuts. And it was peanuts this year. So we were literally in the middle of a peanut field. And yeah, where those 130 employees I talked about, 120 of those are in Fitzgerald. So yeah, we're a pretty substantial economic driver for the town and good friends with the town, so we're proud to be in Fitzgerald. You're looking at about — our budget this year is set at about $80 million, something like that. So pretty good amount of revenue running through us.

Orlando Montoya: There was a news release last year that had a figure about the amount of money that USAID was, was giving you. Of that $80 million, how much is the USAID?

Mark Moore: Wow. The vast majority. The vast majority, yes. So 75-80%, could be higher, even.

Orlando Montoya: There's been a lot of discussion around USAID and foreign aid as it relates to budgetary concerns and reining in the budget. What do you make of those concerns?

Mark Moore: I would say one last thing is that, you know, if you — if you and I were to kind of come to the realization that we made $50,000 a year and we spent 80, that would be a problem. I'd call you over at my house as my advisor. When you pull up to my house, you realize that I have a brand new car and I have a big house and maybe servants that meet you. And I just got back from vacation. And then you look at my checkbook and you realize I gave $100 to my church, and you say to me, "Well, you've got to cut that out." I use that analogy to say: The $50,000 annual salary, our giving the USAID as a government is $100 out of the $50,000. It's two-tenths of 1%. So is it acceptable to waste any of it? No. Should we misspend it? Should we look at it and examine it? Yes. But if you eliminate it, is it the thing that's going to change your financial situation? And what is the impact then of eliminating that $100 spend in your $50,000 budget? And it's massive.

Orlando Montoya: Well, Mark Moore, CEO of Mana Nutrition in Fitzgerald, Ga, thank you for joining me today.

Mark Moore: Thanks Orlando.

Story 2:

Orlando Montoya: Georgia health officials are confirming two more cases of measles in the state. The Georgia Department of Public Health said today the two cases are unvaccinated family members of the metro Atlanta case confirmed in January. These are the first Georgia measles cases of 2025. The U.S. declared measles eradicated in 2000, but last year reported nearly 300 cases, including six in Georgia.

Story 3:

Orlando Montoya: The Trump administration is using a federal prison in Atlanta to detain some people arrested in its immigration crackdown. The Federal Bureau of Prisons told the Associated Press today that it's housing immigration detainees and three people familiar with the matter told the AP that Atlanta, Los Angeles and Miami prisons were involved. The sources spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly. The detentions are a return to a strategy that drew allegations of mistreatment during Trump's first term.

Story 4:

Orlando Montoya: The state Senate yesterday passed a bill that would ban transgender girls from participating in school sports designated for women. GPB's Sarah Kallis reports.

Sarah Kallis: Republican Sen. Greg Dolezal sponsored Senate Bill 1 and says it's about fairness.

Greg Dolezal: This bill recognizes that when you allow males to participate in female sport, it ceases to become a female sport.

Sarah Kallis: Democratic Sen. Kim Jackson proposed an amendment that would make coaches' pay, facilities and equipment for female sports equal to boys sports. That amendment failed.

Kim Jackson: And so I am more clear than ever today that my colleagues are not invested in truly leveling the playing field for girls' sports.

Sarah Kallis: The bill passed 35 to 17, with two Democrats voting in favor of it. It now moves to the House. For GPB News, I'm Sarah Kallis at the state capitol.

Story 5:

Orlando Montoya: A judge has upheld a decision by state regulators to allow a Middle Georgia railroad to take property from private landowners outside the city of Sparta for a new rail line. GPB's Grant Blankenship explains.

Grant Blankenship: Last year, the Georgia Public Service Commission gave the Sandersville Railroad permission to take a nearly 5-mile strip of land outside of Sparta between Macon and Augusta for the Hansen Spur project, a short rail line connecting nearby granite quarries to larger rail lines and northern markets. Landowners rejected offers from the Sandersville Railroad to buy the land. When the PSC gave the railroad permission to take it through eminent domain, residents went to court. Some in the majority Black community allege environmental racism. Now, a Fulton County Superior Court judge has upheld the PSC decision. An attorney for the rail line has invited landowners back to the negotiating table. Landowners' attorneys plan to appeal to the Georgia Supreme Court. A stay on the project remains in place through the appeals. For GPB News, I'm Grant Blankenship in Macon.

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Georgia Power

Credit: Georgia Power

​​​​​​​Story 6:

Orlando Montoya: State senators are considering prohibiting Georgia Power from passing on costs associated with new data centers along to other customers. The energy-hungry facilities have been growing rapidly in Georgia, requiring the company to make expensive new investments. A Senate committee discussed a bill addressing their impact on other ratepayers today and could vote on the measure at its next meeting.

​​​​​​​Story 7:

Orlando Montoya: An 11-story tower is opening tomorrow on the campus at Northeast Georgia Medical Center in Gainesville. The Level 1 trauma center now has a helipad and 96 additional beds. GPB's Ellen Eldridge has more.

Ellen Eldridge: The new facility means trauma patients will be evaluated more quickly. Before helicopters had to land in a parking lot and transfer patients via ambulance. It took 12 minutes at best. Carol Burrell is the president and CEO of Northeast Georgia Health System. She says now:

Carol Burnett: When that helipad lands on the top of the tower, there is an elevator that goes directly to either the stroke floor, the cardiac floor, or all the way to the emergency room, depending on what the issue is. They can drop in 30 seconds.

Ellen Eldridge: Burrell says the hospital currently contributes not just care, but over $7.5 billion in economic impact to the community. For GPB News, I'm Ellen Eldridge.

Orlando Montoya: And that's it for today's edition of Georgia Today. I'm Orlando Montoya. It's been a pleasure filling in for Peter Biello these past two days. He has been in Savannah at the Savannah Book Festival. That's where I'll be tomorrow and this weekend. And we are your two public radio book nerds, of course. We will bring you stories from the Savannah Book Festival in upcoming episodes of Narrative Edge, GPB's podcast about books. So check out Narrative Edge and yeah, have fun at the Savannah Book Festival if you're going to be in the Hostess City this weekend. And I leave you, as I always do, with an invitation to check out our website for more information about these stories at GPB.org/news. Hit subscribe on this podcast so you always stay current with us in your feed, and send us feedback to GeorgiaToday@GPB.org. We'll even take your book recommendations or invitations to other book festivals across the state. Have a great weekend, everybody.

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