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Timeline of a court caseJuly was a tense month for many cattle ranchers on the High Plains who had planned to hay or graze Conservation Reserve Program acreage under the Critical Feed Use Provision. Below is a brief timeline of the events that occurred. May 27--U.S. Department of Agriculture implements the Critical Feed Use provision, allowing for haying and grazing of 24 million CRP acres after the end of the nesting season in each state eligible. June 2--Sign-up for the Critical Feed Use provision begins in local Farm Service Agency offices. July 1--National Wildlife Federation and six state affiliates file for injunction against the USDA's Critical Feed Use provision for CRP acres in the Seattle, Wash., U.S. District Court. July 8--District Court Judge John C. Coughenour hands down a temporary restraining order, halting all haying and grazing activities on CRP land under the Critical Feed Use provision. Ranchers and farmers must immediately comply. July 17--Arguments begin on the motion for preliminary injunction. Judge Coughenour orders both parties to hammer out a compromise agreement. The temporary restraining is extended. July 22--USDA and NWF present a compromise plan to Judge Coughenour. He chooses to delay final ruling for two days to look over the agreement. The temporary restraining order is extended again. July 24--Judge Coughenour hands down a narrow permanent injunction allowing for limited haying and grazing under the Critical Feed Use provision. The restraining order is lifted. 9/1/08 Date: 8/28/08 Advertisement
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