DUBAI // Give a cow a cold shower and it will produce more milk.
That is the hope of the owners of a dairy farm in Dubai, which has installed a state-of-the-art shower system for its 11,000 cattle.
So far, the cows at the Al Rawabi dairy farm in Dubai's Al Khawaneej seem more than pleased with their new showers.
"When they lie down, it means they're comfortable," said Rami Hamad, the farm manager, "and since they started showering, they've been very happy."
Last February, the farm installed 20 motion-sensing shower sprinklers that switch on when a cow is under them.
The farm's 2,300 pregnant cows shower each time they are milked - three times a day - while the other 8,700 shower once a day. "When they're wet, they stay cool," said Mr Hamad. "When that happens, they eat more food and, therefore, produce more milk."
The showers are not the only new cooling measure. The farm has also installed 600 coolers from the US to air condition its sheds and it has changed the design of its shed by lowering the roof to make them easier to cool.
"In summer, milk production goes down by 40 per cent," he said. "We're trying to make the cows forget about the heat so we do anything to avoid it. You can't get rid of humidity with a high roof."
The aim is to bring the temperature down from the summer highs of 50°C to more like 23°C - and certainly below 30°C. "At the moment, it's 30°C outside but where the cows are, it's 22°C."
The walkways will also be covered.
"The cows used to run here because they were so hot," said Nasser Hassan, the farm's unit manager. "But now, they just walk. The hardest months are usually June, July and August."
That has helped the farm increase its milk output by 50,000 litres a day since last year.
"We went from 120,000 litres of milk a day last year to 170,000 litres a day so far," said Mr Hamad. "We expect to reach 200,000 by the end of next year."
The Holstein and Simmental cows from Holland and Germany can give as much as 30 litres a day and Mr Hamad is hoping a cross-breeding programme can boost that to more than 40 litres. The farm is also revamping in other areas with new facilities for hoof-trimming, bulls and a maternity ward.
For 21 hours each day, 210 cows are milked every seven minutes - with an hour cleaning break every seven hours - in two of three milking parlours. Each cow has a chip to record its milk production.
Next month the cows will have special collars from Italy containing sensors to measure their activity.
"We can sense when they're sick or when we are able to impregnate them faster," said Mr Hamad. "Everything works on Wi-Fi now, from feeding to milking and cow management."
A new farm is also due to open in Liwa, 120 kilometres from Abu Dhabi, with 6,000 cows.
"There is no humidity there and that is our main headache, especially in September and October," Mr Hamad said.
"Both farms should cover the demand in the UAE, Qatar and Oman for the next five years."
cmalek@thenational.ae
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
Racecard
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Mina Cup winners
Under 12 – Minerva Academy
Under 14 – Unam Pumas
Under 16 – Fursan Hispania
Under 18 – Madenat
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
FA Cup quarter-final draw
The matches will be played across the weekend of 21 and 22 March
Sheffield United v Arsenal
Newcastle v Manchester City
Norwich v Derby/Manchester United
Leicester City v Chelsea
The five pillars of Islam
TO A LAND UNKNOWN
Director: Mahdi Fleifel
Starring: Mahmoud Bakri, Aram Sabbah, Mohammad Alsurafa
Rating: 4.5/5
England's lowest Test innings
- 45 v Australia in Sydney, January 28, 1887
- 46 v West Indies in Port of Spain, March 25, 1994
- 51 v West Indies in Kingston, February 4, 2009
- 52 v Australia at The Oval, August 14, 1948
- 53 v Australia at Lord's, July 16, 1888
- 58 v New Zealand in Auckland, March 22, 2018
England squad
Joe Root (captain), Alastair Cook, Keaton Jennings, Gary Ballance, Jonny Bairstow (wicketkeeper), Ben Stokes (vice-captain), Moeen Ali, Liam Dawson, Toby Roland-Jones, Stuart Broad, Mark Wood, James Anderson.
TWISTERS
Director: Lee Isaac Chung
Starring: Glen Powell, Daisy Edgar-Jones, Anthony Ramos
Rating: 2.5/5
If you go
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Funchal via Lisbon, with a connecting flight with Air Portugal. Economy class returns cost from Dh3,845 return including taxes.
The trip
The WalkMe app can be downloaded from the usual sources. If you don’t fancy doing the trip yourself, then Explore offers an eight-day levada trails tour from Dh3,050, not including flights.
The hotel
There isn’t another hotel anywhere in Madeira that matches the history and luxury of the Belmond Reid's Palace in Funchal. Doubles from Dh1,400 per night including taxes.
Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989
Director: Goran Hugo Olsson
Rating: 5/5
