When Tammy Leroy first met Larry Brink at a county fair showing pigs, she didn’t think much of it. For these two farm kids from southern Illinois, showing purebred swine was their passion. Tammy showed Yorkshires and Larry showed Hampshires and Yorkshires.
“For years we knew of each other and would see or recognize each other in the barn, but with a bit of an age gap, dating wasn’t a consideration,” Tammy says. “It wasn’t until the summer of 1981 that we became more than friends.”
They had their first date during the Madison County Fair and by the Illinois State Fair, they were ‘more serious,’ she says. On Dec. 25, 1981, they got engaged.
The Couple That Survives Fairs Together Stays Together
The next summer, Millard Leroy gave his daughter a string of Yorkshire pigs and sent her and Larry off to show that summer. He said, “If you can make it through these county fairs and learn how to work together, you can probably survive marriage!”
So, that’s what they did. They spent the summer showing at county fairs and at the Illinois State Fair. The winnings they made that summer paid for their wedding on Dec. 17, 1982.
Larry served as a meat inspector for 33 years and Tammy as a seamstress and homemaker. Together they continued to grow their farm in various ways within the pork industry. It was only natural they pass on their passion for showing pigs to their children Travis, Emmalee and Caleb.
“We spent many summers showing at county fairs,” Tammy says. “It was a family affair. One summer, we attended 13 county fairs, two state fairs and four national shows. Larry and the kids loaded up and brought pigs to the fairs, while I stayed home to do chores and take care of the sows.”
Berkshire Business Blooms
As the kids’ 4-H projects grew in size, so did their love for the Berkshire breed of swine. When the kids aged out of 4-H, Tammy and Larry continued on with the Berkshire business, creating a niche market to restaurants in the St. Louis area.
“The chefs loved the quality of the pork,” Larry says. “We enjoyed getting to see the results. Recently, the farm has become much smaller. The barns that used to hold a full showstring of show pigs and sows just holds a few pigs here and there to keep us and our granddaughters going out to do chores.”
They are both proud to have the fourth generation of their family showing at county fairs now. Travis and Emmalee both have careers in the swine industry, and all three kids have children of their own that will be deeply rooted in 4-H and animal agriculture, Tammy says.
They are grateful for the achievements and opportunities they have been able to attain together over the years, including Swine Family of the Year at the Illinois State Fair in 2003, 2011 Premier Berkshire Breeder Award at the Summer Type Conference and 2015 Illinois Pork Promoters Award.
However, what they treasure most are the little things they do for each other every day. Larry supports Tammy in her sewing business and Tammy supports Larry in his passion to build and make their lives and farm better.
“When everyone is home, you can guarantee the old stories of farrowing sows or talking about the pork industry will be the main discussion at the dinner table,” Tammy says. “The pork industry is how we got together and it’s how we have stayed together.”
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