Deschutes County commissioners to ask Gov. Brown for drought status declaration (Update: Adding video, comment from rancher, Deschutes County Sheriff's Office, DBBC President) BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- Deschutes County commissioners agreed Wednesday to ask Gov. Kate Brown to declare a drought emergency for the county, for a second year. That should be good news to ranchers and farmers who have already had to cut back on water usage. "We got to get it while we can," Rob Rastovich, owner of Barley Beef and the Rastovich family ranch, told NewsChannel 21. He was tending to some of his 200 acres, 50 of which are irrigated, on his ranch east of Bend.