Lord Selborne, President of the Board of Agriculture, drew up a scheme for the organization of agriculture throughout the country.  It consisted of War Agricultural Committee set up in each county who look after production, use of land, procuring use of motor machinery, etc., and of Women’s Agricultural Committees.  The latter undertake the organization of securing women workers for the land, choosing them, and arranging for training and placing out.

The voluntary groups of women who have been working at the problem in the war are now practically all merged in the Board of Agriculture’s organization.  The Women’s Branch of the Food Production Department now controls and arranged the whole work and Miss Meriel Talbot is the able chief.

The Women’s Land Corps, like the other organizations, was prepared to be merged in the new Land Army of the Board and to cease to exist as a separate organization.  Its members were willing to become part of the new Land Army.

The Board found there was a distinct need for a voluntary association which would continue to enroll women, who could not sign on for the duration of the war, and who were able to forego the benefits of free training, outfit and travelling given under the Government scheme.  Over 100 members of the Corps did enroll and the original Corps members do not require to appear before the local Selection Committees nor to submit references, which marks the Board’s confidence in the Corps.

Many of the Corps Workers are now organizing Secretaries for the Counties or Assistant Secretaries, or are travelling Inspectors under the Board of Agriculture.

The Corps still organizes the supply of temporary workers for seasonal jobs such as potato dropping, hoeing, harvesting, fruitpicking, potato and root lifting, etc., done by groups under leaders.  The work of organizing in the Counties is carried out by the appointment of a woman as District representative.  She is responsible for a general supervision of the work in all the villages in her district.  Each village has a woman to act as Registrar and her duty (with assistants, if necessary) is to canvass all the village women and girls for volunteers for whole and part time work, and for training, and to canvass the farmer to find out what labour he needs, and in the beginning they had to induce him to use women.  She puts the farmer and the women suitable for his needs in her own district, in touch with each other, and passes to the District Representative and to the Employment Exchanges the names of all women qualified to help and not placed, and of those willing to train.

All these committees, registrars and representatives are honorary workers.  The Board of Agriculture appoints to each County for work with the committee a woman Organizing Secretary, and assistant also if necessary.

The Board of Agriculture, working through the Employment Exchanges and under the direction of their women heads, arranged a series of meetings and work of propaganda by posters and leaflets throughout the whole country early in 1916.