Tuesday, September 1, 2009 9:40 PM CDT
FPS draws record crowd
By CHRIS LUSVARDI, Staff Writer
DECATUR — A crowd estimated to be the largest to visit the Farm Progress Show in Decatur on a single day converged Tuesday on Progress City USA.
The weather left little to distract visitors and made it a day for them to accomplish as much as they could. The record crowd came early and lingered even as the show closed for the day as visitors tried to enjoy as much as they could.
Jackets were even a necessity for some as the show opened for the day.
“I think this is the best weather I’ve ever seen for a Farm Progress Show,” said Ruth Hambleton during her Annie’s Project presentation in the Rural Life Tent.
Others marveled at how the comfortable weather replaced the extreme heat from two years ago.
“It’s just unbelievable,” said Richland Community College Vice President of Finance Greg Florian as he drove a golf cart to pick up visiting lawmakers about lunch time. “This is incredible. The parking lots are full, and the crowds are as big as I’ve ever seen them. People are just streaming in here. The show has lived up to its hype.”
Show manager Matt Jungmann could find little to complain about as he joked around with other members of the Farm Progress crew just before closing time.
“It was about as good as it can be when you have all the moving parts,” Jungmann said. “Everybody’s mood is just lifted when you have sunshine. It makes things go smoother.”
Any problems with lines, traffic or parking spoke to the volume of the crowd, Jungmann said. Traffic was reportedly backed up in the morning along Interstate 72 and lines streamed out the gates to the show as visitors waited to get in.
“It got handled as fast as it can get handled,” Jungmann said.
It was a busy day at the first aid tent, but the issues responders faced were nothing like the heat-related illnesses from two years ago, said show medical services coordinator Bill Wood.
The chief complaint of the day? Sunburned cheeks, noses and ears, he said.
Many attendees and exhibitors made their way to the medical tent, hoping to score some sunscreen, but there is none available there. And Wood said he hasn’t heard of any exhibitors offering sunscreen giveaways.
To be safe, responders at the medical tent urged those who plan to be out at the show for long periods of time to bring their own sunscreen with them at the start of the day.
Exhibitors were pleased to be able to concentrate on getting their message out as some have invested massive amounts of time and money into their displays and presentations.
Tom Wiltrout, Dow AgroSciences manager for global seeds, trails and oils, said the company returned to the Farm Progress Show in 2007 to get its message out. The heat that year made it difficult to keep potential customers’ attention.
“I was here about 24 months ago,” Wiltrout said, as he made a presentation about the company’s latest tolerance traits. “I was pouring this bottle of water on my head.”
Wiltrout and others felt no need to beat the heat this year. He felt many visitors had visited their air-conditioned tent in 2007 for the cool air and free water giveaways.
“We don’t have that excuse,” Wiltrout said. “We have even more people. We think we’re doing something right.”
The show continues today and Thursday, with another large crowd and good weather expected.
“I expect tomorrow to be a carbon copy of today,” Jungmann said.
Annie Getsinger and Arlene Mannlein contributed to this report.
Contact Lusvardi at clusvardi@herald-review.com|421-7972
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