HARRISONBURG, Va. — The Justice Department’s antitrust lawsuit that contends the sale of a Tyson Foods’ plant in Harrisonburg to George’s Inc. would reduce the number of poultry producers around Harrisonburg will go to trial on Aug. 22, according to The Associated Press. US District Judge Glen Conrad set the trial date on May 24 during a hearing in federal court in Roanoke, The Daily News-Record reports.

George’s had asked the court to schedule the trial for early summer, adding that local poultry farmers could be harmed if the case was delayed. Meanwhile, on May 24 the Harrisonburg City Council approved a resolution asking the Justice Department to withdraw the lawsuit. State officials and some Virginia congressional delegation members have also criticized this case.