DECATUR - Television star Paul Teutul Jr. helped to create an electric atmosphere at the 2011 Farm Progress Show, even before the gates opened for the first time Tuesday.
Teutul, known as Paul Jr. from the Discovery Channel television show "American Chopper," drove the custom-built motorcycle he designed for the DeKalb seed brand through the crowd that lined up at the main gate to get into Progress City USA. The bike was designed to be a symbol of agricultural innovation as DeKalb marks 100 years in business.
"We really wanted to appeal to farmers," Paul Jr. told the crowd. He rode the bike wearing a backward black hat, black DeKalb T-shirt and blue jeans and noted the seat on the chopper is more comfortable than it looks.
"We knew it was farmers that have kept DeKalb in business all these years," Paul Jr. said, giving a thumbs-up to the crowd before riding the chopper back into Progress City.
Paul Jr. said he saw a lot of potential clients at the Farm Progress Show. He was accompanied by his wife, Rachel, and brother, Mikey Teutul, who garnered a lot of attention from the crowd.
After the opening ceremony, the brown and green chopper was on display throughout the day in the center of the DeKalb exhibit. DeKalb is the national corn brand of St. Louis-based Monsanto Co.
"I think he's really hit it out of the park," said Jason Hoag, DeKalb marketing manager.
Monsanto Chief Technology Officer Rob Fraley was amazed by how the project turned out. Company representatives saw the chopper for the first time as Paul Jr. drove it out of the gate amid a heavy security presence with Macon County sheriff's deputies and Illinois State Police handling crowd control.
"A lot of science and innovation go into it," Fraley said. "It's just what we were looking for because it symbolizes technology. It's the same thing that happens in a bag of seeds."
When it comes to benefiting from the hype surrounding the unveiling, it pays to be in the right place at the right time.
For the past few years, Monosem Inc. has used the spot next to the DeKalb to promote its planters to farmers as they emerge from the neighboring tent full of new seed knowledge.
On Tuesday, the company had the added benefit of having Paul Jr. film a possible segment of the upcoming show with some of the Monosem equipment in the background.
"I didn't expect them to be right here," Chad Compton said of the Paul Jr. Designs crew. Compton, of Edwardsville, Kan., is a territory sales manager for Monosem.
Visitors to the Farm Progress Show could catch a flavor of the rivalry between Paul Jr. and his father, Orange County Choppers founder Paul Teutul Sr.
Paul Sr. designed two choppers for another seed company, Beck's Hybrids, that he unveiled at the end of July. The choppers have been on tour since then, including at the company's new building during the Farm Progress Show.
The choppers are part of efforts to raise money for charity. Beck's is selling raffle tickets to buy one of its bikes to raise money for We Care for Orphans. The DeKalb chopper will be sold as part of online auction, which will begin in January, to benefit the American Red Cross disaster relief effort.
The yearlong DeKalb chopper tour will conclude at the 2012 Farm Progress Show in Boone, Iowa.
The Paul Jr. chopper unveiling started what turned into an ideal first day of the show. With temperatures expected to rise well into the 90s the next two days, those at the show enjoyed a comfortable opening day.
"Things have gone smoothly," said Jeff Lapin, president of Farm Progress Co. "It was pretty exciting to see him come in. He captured the flavor of what DeKalb wanted to do."
Throughout the day, visitors were busy showing off new products and technology. Field demonstrations went off as planned in dry fields north of the site.
A large crowd gathered as Paul Jr. provided the highlight of the opening ceremony, but a steady stream of visitors kept Progress City packed throughout the day.
Decatur singer CeCe Frey sang the national anthem during the opening ceremony.
"We're at the center for agriculture innovation for the next three days," said Willie Vogt, Farm Progress editorial director and emcee for the opening ceremony.
The fourth Farm Progress Show in Decatur continues from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. today, with the final day 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursday. The Rodney Atkins country music concert starts at 5 p.m. today east of Richland Community College.
clusvardi@herald-review.com|421-7972
Read more: Farm Progress Show kicks off with the roar of specially designed chopper http://www.herald-review.com/business/local/farm_progress/article_92025a54-d38e-11e0-b4e9-001cc4c002e0.html#ixzz1WiV5Pwnh
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