Interim president Tom Fearby and long-term member Malcolm Heath say the "once strong" Gunnedah branch has "lost half our membership" and will be forced to fold or merge with another branch if farmers don't put up their hands to join.

"Local families should consider if it folds completely and some issue crops up, where do they go?" Mr Heath said.

"Gunnedah farmers are not going to have representation."

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They said attendance at meetings had dropped over the years and believe two key contributors are the drought and the loss of farming families in the district because of mining.

Mr Heath said the branch had been in recession for some time but managed to reform last week when "office bearers were persuaded out of retirement".

"The fact that there are still 50 financial members in the district indicates that there is an appreciation of the important role the association plays as an advocate for farmers," he said.

"At the local level, however, we are in danger of losing an organisation that speaks for local farmers about local issues."

They said the local branch was a "platform to help them" and could be used a vehicle for change on local and state government levels.

The farmers believe the answer to revitalising the branch lies in encouraging new generations of farmers to join.

"Young people don't go to meetings any more .... [but] you've got to get that nucleus of young farmers that think together and talk together," Mr Fearby said.

The branch is hopeful it can use Australia's biggest agricultural field day - AgQuip - as a launch pad to make its plight known and attract more members to save the branch.

"I urge local farming families to consider supporting the local branch," Mr Heath said.

"It is not an onerous task as only one meeting a year is required to keep the branch operational [and] this would allow Gunnedah to send four delegates to the annual conference."

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