The story of the Rastovich Family Farm is spread across its 200 acres east of Bend. On one corner of the property is a small house that was built in 1919, the same year George and Anna Rastovich homesteaded the land. The Yugoslavian immigrants farmed mostly potatoes and hay as they raised seven children in that 900-square-foot home.

Old horse-drawn farm equipment and rusted Model Ts sit on the farm like pieces in a museum. And under a wooden shed is a ditch where George Rastovich made illegal beer during Prohibition.

The historic pieces are a daily reminder of the family’s past and how far the farm has come over the past 100 years. Hemp and cattle have replaced the original crops, but the farm is still going. It is the first in Deschutes County to reach the century mark and still be operated by the same family.

Rob Rastovich, George and Anna’s grandson and a third-generation farmer at the Rastovich Farm, feels a deep connection to his relatives every time he works on the High Desert farm.

“Being able to stand on the land that they stood on, and drive the cars that they drove, it makes you appreciate how hard they had to work, and the effect that technology has had on the farm,” Rastovich said.

Rastovich, 56, who has a background in computer science and helped launch the technology company ThingLogix, brings a modern eye to the farm. He is constantly researching ways to automate how the farm is cared for and how the cattle are wrangled.

He knows farm equipment can always be replaced. But what is sacred to him is the land.

His father, Danny Rastovich, always told him, “They can always make more of anything, but they stopped making land a long time ago.”

Those words stuck with the younger Rastovich.

“Money can buy a lot of things,” he said. “But it can’t buy 100 years of history.”

The Rastovich Family Farm has been finding ways to buck the trend of farms closing across the country.

Since 2012, the farm has operated Barley Beef, which takes about 200,000 pounds of spent grain a week from several Central Oregon breweries and uses the grain to feed about 350 cattle on the farm. Many of those cattle are then used for ground beef in burgers at the breweries.

Barley Beef is the primary purpose of the farm today.

“If you want to support your local farmer, drink more beer,” Rastovich said.

In addition, the farm is in its second year of growing hemp, a strain of cannabis that is often grown as a fiber crop. Hemp does not need as much water as hay to grow, making it an ideal crop for the High Desert, Rastovich said.

“Hemp for this area is a great crop,” he said. “It’s a crop that can sustain itself.”

Farming in general has been on a steady decline over the past century.

The number of farms in America peaked at 6.8 million in 1935, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

In recent years, USDA data shows the total number of farms declined from 2.11 million to 2.04 million between 2012 and 2017.

The Rastovich Family Farm is in rare company in Central Oregon. Only three other farms are listed as century farms in which the same family has worked the land for at least 100 years. Two are in Jefferson County, and one is in Crook County.

Across the state, 1,212 farms have been registered with the Oregon Century Farm & Century Ranch Program. Another 41 farms have reached the 150-year mark, according to the state program.

Rastovich, who grew up in the same tiny, 900-square-foot farmhouse as his father and grandfather, remembers neighboring farms. Now, his farm is surrounded by housing developments and Bend Park & Recreation District land.

“We are kind of this last little chunk left here,” he said.

Rastovich returned to the farm in 2006, after leaving to pursue a career in computer science in California.

His parents were getting older and needed help around the farm.

His mother, Helen Rastovich, died in 2009 at 73. His father, Danny Rastovich, died in 2015 at 89.

Danny Rastovich was the youngest of seven children on the farm. He had four older sisters, who all eventually married and moved away.

His two older brothers fought in World War II. Mike returned and moved out of state, and the other brother, Bob, was killed in an accident at the Shevlin Hixon mill three months after returning home from the war.

“My dad was the baby,” Rastovich said. “He stayed to work the farm.”

Rastovich has three employees who help him run the farm. They often work 6 a.m. to 11 p.m., planting and watering the land and feeding the cattle. The crew is constantly repairing fences and equipment around the farm.

“We have been preparing the place for the next 100 years,” Rastovich said.

The Rastovich Family Farm officially hits the century mark Sept. 19 and intends to submit an application to be registered with the state program.

Registered century farms receive a certificate signed by the governor, a durable metal road sign to identify their property as a century farm and the farm family is honored during a special ceremony and reception at the Oregon State Fair.

Andréa Kuenzi, program coordinator for the Oregon Century Farm & Century Ranch Program, said the designation also helps the state keep a detailed history of its farming history.

“We are recording a history of this state’s agricultural industry, and it’s important to keep family legacies documented,” Kuenzi said. “This is also why we require an application process that is pretty rigorous as we are protecting the integrity of our state’s agricultural history. It’s a very strong historical record that is available to the public.”

The farm will host a celebration in September, when it reaches the century mark.

Rastovich and his wife, Colleen, hope their farm will stay alive.

There is a draw to the land that the couple has passed down to their children. They range in age from 18 to 38, and have expressed a desire to keep the farm operating. But the younger Rastoviches may not be able to if the land is annexed into the city of Bend, and additional property taxes become too much of a burden.

For now, the fourth-generation Rastoviches are away at college or in the midst of their careers. No matter where they are, farming will always be a part of their lives, their father said.

“They are not there yet,” Rastovich said. “But we will hold the fort down until they get back.”

— Reporter: 541-617-7820, kspurr@bendbulletin.com