Wagga's Diana Gibbs and Temora's Cindy Cassidy are thrilled to embark on their new journey, each expressing their pride in the power of rural women.

The new membership also ties in with a recent announcement of a book showcasing winners of the Rural Women's Award over the years, which the pair both feature in.

For Diana Gibbs, her journey started when she married a farmer.

"We live along the Murrumbidgee River, and while I wasn't born in Australia, I have had the great pleasure of raising my children here," she said.

The 2000 Rural Woman of the Year winner has practiced as a resource economist over the years, working in what she calls the "engine room of the economy".

"I work with things that really drive the regional economy like forestry, mining, agriculture and water, and look at how we can use these assets to their fullest value," Ms Gibbs said.

Taking on roles such as Director of the Murray Darling Basin Authority and chairwoman of Regional Development Australia for the Riverina, Ms Gibbs has learnt a lot over her career.

But her knowledge continues to grow.

"I always say I learn something new everyday," she said.

"It's a terrifically exciting time for agriculture, we've had a fantastic season this year and it shows just how much we can do when we have rain and all the things we need.

"But it's also amazing to look at the way things are changing constantly, farmers now are not just doing what their grandfathers did, they're professional people with endless amounts of education and technology to understand the finer details like genetics."

Moving forward, Ms Gibbs hopes to see the regions' potential embraced.

"Australia is a high cost producing country, but we can compete with the rest of the world by being smarter," she said.

"Smart lives in the regions too, so let's show the world what we can do."

Cindy Cassidy, who now lives and works in Temora, secured the 2015 Rural Woman of the Year award.

Agriculture has been in her blood from the beginning.

"I was born and bred in Ariah Park on a farm, and I did leave for 20 years to do my masters in Agriculture but always continued to work in the field and now I'm back," she said.

From working on the Australian Wheat and Australian Barley boards, to becoming the executive officer of Wheat Quality Australia, Ms Cassidy returned to the Riverina in 2013 where she has just wrapped up a seven year career as the CEO of Farmlink.

"I really love agriculture and I have a lot of admiration for farmers and farming families," she said.

As part of the Rural Women's Award book, participants were asked what they would tell their 21-year-old selves.

For Ms Cassidy, it was about self-belief.

"It is really easy when you're young to think you can't do something, but if you're really challenged and step up to that challenge, you will find just how capable and talented you are," she said.

Ms Cassidy is preparing to embark on her new role as general manager of agriculture with the Bureau of Meteorology alongside her position on the AgriFutures board.