Australians are being urged to "eat more cheese" to help dairy farmers survive drastic milk price cuts that some fear could send them broke.

In what he has called the "greatest call to arms I have ever made", prominent TV host Waleed Aly has made an impassioned plea for shoppers to stump up a few cents more for Australian-made brand-name cheese and milk to help save farmers from financial ruin.

"Dairy farmers are begging us to eat more locally produced cheese," he said on Tuesday night's The Project.