Paula Hynes: Back to school for cheddar - it's time for a cheese chopping scheme

We seem to have left the door open for other countries to add value to our dairy product, writes Aherla dairy farmer and Farm Exam columnist Paula Hynes.

The Dutch are very good at adding value to produce, and when I checked out the cheddar available in a Cork hospital, it seems it may well be Irish Cheddar after all, as that Dutch company only sources Cheddar from the UK and Ireland due to its quality.

There seemed to be quite a lot of discussion this week surrounding the possible inclusion of Dutch cheese in the State School Meals Programme.

The Department of Social Protection say they provide funding to what is now over 1,400 schools involved, and it is up to the schools to implement the programme.