Northern Ireland (NI) farmer-owned co-op Dale Farm has announced it is investing £70m to expand the production of cheddar cheese at its flagship site at Dunmanbridge outside Cookstown, Co Tyrone.

The expansion, which is one of the largest ever single investments by an agri-food company in NI, includes a new high-speed automated cheese slicing line, as well as increased warehouse space.

It is expected that cheddar cheese capacity will increase by 20,000t annually.

The work is already well under way and is expected to be complete by February 2025, ahead of peak milk supply in May of that year.

Expansion

According to Dale Farm chief executive Nick Whelan, the expansion in cheese capacity will position the co-op as a leading cheddar player in Europe.

“Thanks to our reputation for quality, sustainability and consistency, we are seeing strong customer growth in the category.

"We are already exporting to 40 countries and, with this investment, we want to build on that momentum and future-proof our operation at Dunmanbridge for decades to come,” he said.

“This investment will be transformative not just for Dale Farm, but for the NI rural economy. We have big plans for the future and are looking forward to the next step of this journey,” added Whelan.