RAS AL KHAIMAH // The problem with the cows was clear. They were too pregnant.
When placing his order for the region's first herd of dairy cows, Robert McKay had been very precise: the cows should be pedigree Friesians, selected from the best British herds and seven months pregnant. Not nine.
But when the cattle landed at Dubai airport after flying more than 5,000 kilometres aboard a DC-7 from the UK, they were ready to calve.
It was December 20, 1969. Mr McKay had dealt with bigger problems in his years as a farmer abroad. For instance, mortar strikes on the South Yemen border before the British withdrawal from Aden.
"It wasn't very nice, upcountry," his wife, Margaret, recalled recently.
But the overly pregnant cows of The Experimental Farm in Digdagga, Ras Al Khaimah, were not going to get the better of the world-savvy Scot.
It was to be his greatest experiment yet. Could the cows survive a desert summer where temperatures reached 50°C? And, if they survived, would they produce milk in commercial quantities at such temperatures?
The 28 cows and two bulls were loaded off the aircraft and on to lorries bound for the agricultural station at Digdagga, where Mr McKay, an agricultural adviser for the Trucial States Council, and his wife worked to turn the desert green with cabbage seeds, sprouts and tomato plants.
"We didn't realise until we came back that we were the original pioneers," said Mrs McKay, who visited her old farmstead in February this year with her daughter, Fiona.
"It has got so sophisticated but then it was so sophisticated from where we had come."
Mrs McKay was one of several Britons who lived in RAK during the 1960s and returned this year on tour, thanks to Sheikh Saud bin Saqr, the Ruler of Ras Al Khaimah. It was her first visit since the 1970s and she remembered the first cows well.
When the first calf made its appearance on the morning of December 23, there were no milking machines, sterilizers, bottles or cartons. They had expected the first birth in February. Farm staff and their friends frantically collected glass bottles of all shapes and sizes so no milk would go to waste.
The calf was named Simon-Christopher, in honour of the twins of the English head of the RAK police force who shared its birthday.
"Everyone was ooing and aahing at this calf that was born, but of course we really wanted a female," said Mrs McKay.
RAK's expatriates enjoyed fresh milk in their tea for Christmas. But summer was ahead.
"Nobody knew whether they would survive or not," Mrs McKay said. "It really was an experiment. There had been cattle before but just the odd cow, I think."
The coast had its share of sardine-fed Brahman cows, half-tonne beasts imported from the Indian subcontinent. But the Friesians had been bred for hundreds of years to withstand the bitter winters of the Netherlands and northern Germany. New to the desert, these were Friesians on the front line.
They were hand-fed Iranian hay, imported concentrate and the farm's coveted alfalfa, which was so popular there were holes in the perimeter fence from nocturnal raids by other farmers.
Each cow drank an average of 25 gallons of water a day, 10 more than in the UK. They lived in a fanned shed with showers that were activated when they stood on a platform. The cows' faces would contort into strange expressions as they were sprayed but they soon learnt that cool relief followed a step on to the platform.
"They settled in so quickly and they didn't seem to be upset by it," Mrs McKay said. "Eventually they came out and they survived and they were quite happy. I don't think we had any record of that type of cow doing well in a tropical climate."
The cows were chaperoned by Chris Yewdall, a handsome blond Yorkshireman who, late into the reception of a friend's wedding, had volunteered to fly with the cows from the UK to Dubai. He was their primary caretaker for their first six months in Digdagga.
"During the flight, the engineer asked me what wewere going to feed the cattle on," Mr Yewdall told the Gulf Mail in an interview in 1970. "When we arrived at Dubai, I saw what he meant."
The cows produced three gallons [13.5 litres] of milk a day in winter, comparable to their UK counterparts. Milking machines arrived in February. Production fell to two and a half gallons in the first summer.
"They were a good yield," Mrs McKay said. "It wasn't very rich milk, not like a Jersey, but it was a good quality milk and a good quantity. It wasn't a high fat milk so we didn't make butter, there wasn't enough production in it. With only 20 cows you can't really do a lot."
Green and white cartons of Digdagga milk appeared at grocers in Dubai, Sharjah and Ras Al Khaimah, including Spinneys. It was the first supply of fresh commercial milk.
By July 1970, the herd numbered 51 - 27 cows, 23 calves and a bull. Two cattle had died in the first six months -a bull, probably from tick-born disease, and a cow that died during a Caesarean section. Ironside, the bull named for the English Civil War general Oliver Cromwell's troops, survived.
Friesians are now found the world over but in the 1960s they were a rare sight in a desert country.
The Trucial Coast had been devastated by high food prices after the Second World War, so when the farm first opened in 1955 any produce or diary gave much-needed nutrients to local diets.
The Digdagga Friesians became celebrities. Newspapers and agricultural experts sang the praises of these durable cattle. Their survival was evidence that cows could live, thrive and survive in any climate.
The Friesians were one part of the experiment to provide nutrients in a land where agriculture had been limited previously to tobacco, date and citrus cultivation.
The Friesians were just one part of the experimental farm. Mr McKay collected seeds, especially from the US where conditions were similar. He grew carrots, cabbage, aubergine, okra, sprouts, tomatoes, wheat, barley, other cereals, a variety of fruit trees and even attempted cotton. There were chickens, too, and goats - even a horse named Othello.
The road to the Digdagga station, now the RAK airport motorway, was a dirt track marked by a tree painted with a red dot. When it rained, the family were marooned for days.
Even so, it was never a lonely existence. "I did a lot of dressmaking, for myself, and for the girls," said Mrs McKay. "Quite a few parties."
Her only complaint was the brackish well water. "You couldn't get a good cup of tea or coffee, it was quite horrid."
The experiment had proved itself and become a commercial success by the time the McKays left in 1972.
Today, Digdagga dairy is home to 1,200 Holstein Friesians, many descended from the original 28. They produce 7,500 litres of milk per day in winter for supermarkets - and camel owners who buy it for their herds.
Digdagga is proof that cows like it hot.
azacharias@thenational.ae
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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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
Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
THE SPECS
Engine: 3.5-litre V6
Transmission: six-speed manual
Power: 325bhp
Torque: 370Nm
Speed: 0-100km/h 3.9 seconds
Price: Dh230,000
On sale: now
The biog
First Job: Abu Dhabi Department of Petroleum in 1974
Current role: Chairperson of Al Maskari Holding since 2008
Career high: Regularly cited on Forbes list of 100 most powerful Arab Businesswomen
Achievement: Helped establish Al Maskari Medical Centre in 1969 in Abu Dhabi’s Western Region
Future plan: Will now concentrate on her charitable work
Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
Available: Now
THE BIO: Mohammed Ashiq Ali
Proudest achievement: “I came to a new country and started this shop”
Favourite TV programme: the news
Favourite place in Dubai: Al Fahidi. “They started the metro in 2009 and I didn’t take it yet.”
Family: six sons in Dubai and a daughter in Faisalabad
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The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
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
Ziina users can donate to relief efforts in Beirut
Ziina users will be able to use the app to help relief efforts in Beirut, which has been left reeling after an August blast caused an estimated $15 billion in damage and left thousands homeless. Ziina has partnered with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to raise money for the Lebanese capital, co-founder Faisal Toukan says. “As of October 1, the UNHCR has the first certified badge on Ziina and is automatically part of user's top friends' list during this campaign. Users can now donate any amount to the Beirut relief with two clicks. The money raised will go towards rebuilding houses for the families that were impacted by the explosion.”
Europe’s rearming plan
- Suspend strict budget rules to allow member countries to step up defence spending
- Create new "instrument" providing €150 billion of loans to member countries for defence investment
- Use the existing EU budget to direct more funds towards defence-related investment
- Engage the bloc's European Investment Bank to drop limits on lending to defence firms
- Create a savings and investments union to help companies access capital
