The National Broiler Marketing Association v. United States case in 1977 revolved around the issue of whether a marketing association, which was comprised of broiler chicken producers and processors, violated antitrust laws by agreeing to fix prices for their products. The U.S Supreme Court ruled that the actions of the National Broiler Marketing Association were indeed in violation of these laws. This decision was based on evidence showing that members collectively controlled over 90% of broilers marketed nationwide and had agreed to uniform pricing strategies, thereby restricting competition within the industry. The court rejected arguments from the association claiming exemption under Capper-Volstead Act - an act allowing agricultural cooperatives some leeway against antitrust legislation - as it did not apply due to non-farmer entities being part of this agreement too.

In the dissenting opinion for the case National Broiler Marketing Association v. United States, it was argued that the majority's decision to uphold a Secretary of Agriculture order underestimates and undermines Congress' intent in passing legislation. The dissenting justices believed that Congress intended to protect individual farmers from unfair practices by processors and dealers, not associations of producers like the National Broiler Marketing Association (NBMA). They pointed out that NBMA is not involved in any buying or selling activities but merely provides marketing information services to its members who are poultry growers. Therefore, they contended that applying this law against NBMA would be inappropriate as it does not engage in any actions detrimental to individual farmers. Furthermore, they expressed concern about potential far-reaching implications of such an interpretation on other agricultural cooperatives providing similar services.