By Patrick McMahon
May 29, 2021
BEND, Ore — Rob Rastovich is a man who has been doing the work of two people every day for the past nine years. No, he isn’t Superman. Rob owns Rastovich Family Farms, located in Bend, Oregon since 1919, and he also is the chief technical officer for ThingLogix, a tech company that helps other companies adopt emerging technologies. However, since Rob is very highly invested in both companies, both of these positions take up a large amount of his time. “I usually get up between 4:30 and 5… I usually wrap up my tech day around 3-3:30,” said Rob. “Then I go back out to the ranch, so I’ll spend from 3:30 or so till 7-7:30 working.” All the family time Rob gets is at dinner after his work day, and that’s when he’s not traveling for ThingLogix. “Before COVID, I was gone three weeks out of every four,” said Rob.
For most people, the fact that these careers have nothing to do with each other would be a daunting thing, but Rob seems to relish this fact. “If I had to do nothing but ranching, it would drive me nuts, and if I had to do nothing but programming, it would drive me nuts,” said Rob with a laugh. He also finds it very useful to be able to switch between two careers that are in almost opposite fields of work. “I have solved more technical problems while changing irrigation or herding cows than I will have ever solved playing ping-pong or pool,” said Rob. “It takes you out of that realm, and gives you time to think and do things that are real.” He also adds that he’s not the only one who likes having something to take his mind off programming. “The best programmers I’ve ever worked with always have something on the side, that ability to actually do real, concrete things,” said Rob.
While it may seem like these two fields of work have absolutely nothing in common, Rob believes otherwise. “The number one industry for connected devices is agriculture,” said Rob. “ThingLogix actually has a customer in the San Joaquin Valley who is an agricultural consulting company.” People around Rob echoed this idea as well. “I think some of the root values and ideas are pretty similar,” said Levi Schwarz, the ranch manager at Rastovich Family Farm. “He transitions so smoothly from one to the other that there’s no way that he has to completely switch his way of thinking.”
Along with connections between the two industries of agriculture and programming, there are key skills that connect Rob’s two very different careers. “As a farmer who understands efficiency and technology, there are ways he’s made it possible to make enough money to keep the grass green,” said Colleen Rastovich, Rob’s wife. “Rob had to be very creative with marketing and efficiencies to be able to turn it into Barley Beef, so that made him an innovative, forward thinking farmer, which is an unusual combination.” Barley Beef is something that Rob started in 2012 as a way to bring in money by selling beef products, and has become simply another thing that is added to Rob’s already full plate of work. “He has to manage people similarly in both jobs,” said Sam Rastovich, Rob’s eldest son and a software engineer at ThingLogix. “He also really has to be innovative in both jobs, whether it’s creating new processes for the farm or a new technology.”
With Rob gone 75% out of every usual month, and working 15 hour days when he’s home, family time is often hard to come by. “Per week, dinnertime usually,” said Colleen. “That might be it. After dinner, if he’s not working, he will sit down and fall asleep.” This has been standard for the Rastovich family for quite some time, and has simply become something they are used to. “For the most part, I have not spent a ton of time with my dad,” said Max Rastovich, Rob’s youngest son. “He’s definitely a workaholic, and I respect him a lot for that.” Even with the large time commitment that having two jobs requires, Rob has clearly left an impact on his kids in the best way possible. “He’s a role model for me, just because of how hard he works, and how dedicated he is,” said Max.
Even with Rob’s long hours and loaded schedule, it is clear he still has passion and a love for both of his respective careers. “It’s that perfect dichotomy of when you’re ranching, it feels good to be away from the technology, and when you’re in technology, it feels good to be away from the ranching,” said Rob. “I can’t say I like one or the other better, I like the combination.” Rob’s son Max, however, had a different view on what his dad likes to do more. “Farming, he talks about it all the time. I’m sure he would love, in an ideal future, to only work on the farm, and to not deal with the programming side.” said Max with enthusiasm. “Don’t get me wrong, he loves the programming side. It’s just at this point, it’s more managing, and less of the fun part of the programming.” Rob echoed this sentiment about managing when bringing up things he didn’t like about his jobs. “I don’t like managing people,” said Rob. “I hate it.”
Both of these careers have had a strong impact on Rob’s journey through life thus far. “I couldn’t separate them out, they’ve both impacted it,” said Rob. “Technology obviously has a bigger financial impact, and I think ranching has a bigger character impact. They’re very different impacts.” One thing Rob didn’t have an answer to was when he would be ready to step away from both jobs. “Ask me that again next year,” said Rob with a smile on his face. “I’m getting tired, I’m getting old.”