In 2012, the Vander Dussen family arrived in Weld County with a plan and a long history in dairy farming.
What they did not know was that they were beginning a chapter that would become deeply intertwined with the community they chose to call home.
The family’s dairy roots stretch back generations to Rotterdam, Netherlands, where Mark Vander Dussen’s grandfather, Sybrand Vander Dussen, worked as a milk peddler before bringing the family to the United States. The Vander Dussens eventually settled in Southern California, where dairy farming remained at the heart of family life.
Decades later, changing conditions in California and new opportunities in Colorado prompted another move—this time to La Salle.
Weld County’s strong agricultural foundation and Colorado’s growing dairy industry made the area an attractive place to put down roots. The opening of Leprino Foods’ cheese plant in nearby Greeley created new opportunities for dairy producers, reinforcing the family’s decision to make Northern Colorado their next home.
Soon after arriving, the Vander Dussens purchased the former Miller Feedlot from longtime Weld County agricultural leader Jim Miller and began building what is now Prado Dairy.
Like many farm families, everyone had a role. Ranae and her husband, Mark, worked alongside their four children, who spent their days feeding calves, cutting twine from hay bales, breaking ice from water troughs and helping wherever they were needed. The dairy was not simply where they worked. It was where their children grew up.
Mark quickly developed a strong affection for Colorado and loved milking cows in Weld County. Prado Dairy became the dream he and Ranae built together and the future they envisioned for their family.
Then, in 2017, the Vander Dussens faced an unimaginable loss when Mark passed away after battling cancer.
The years that followed tested the family’s resolve. While raising her children, Ranae also farmed corn ground next to the dairy. Her brother-in-law stepped in to help keep operations moving while her son Wybrand completed his Animal Science degree at Kansas State University and gained experience through internships at other dairies.
Despite the uncertainty, the family remained committed to keeping Prado Dairy in family hands and preparing the next generation to lead it forward.
By the time Wybrand returned to Weld County, the dairy had weathered some of its most difficult years. What awaited him was more than a management position. It was the responsibility of carrying forward the work his parents had spent years building together.
Over the past five years, Wybrand has helped guide Prado Dairy through a period of growth and modernization, introducing new technologies, improving cow comfort and increasing efficiency throughout the operation. His leadership has earned recognition well beyond Colorado. In December, he received the 2025 Milk Business Young Producer Award, a national honor presented annually to an outstanding dairy producer under the age of 35.
For Ranae, the recognition affirmed what she had already seen firsthand.
“I could see that he was pouring his heart and time into Prado,” she says. “He is surpassing what his dad and I would have expected of him.”
One of the family’s favorite reminders of how deeply they have become connected to Weld County has little to do with awards or dairy production.
Ten years after purchasing the former Miller Feedlot, Wybrand married Amber Strohauer—the granddaughter of Jim Miller, the very man who sold the property to the family when they first arrived.
Today, Wybrand and Amber are raising their two daughters in La Salle, while another chapter is already taking shape. Youngest son Rhett is completing an internship at a dairy in Kersey and plans to return to Weld County after graduating from Kansas State University next spring.
For Ranae, having Wybrand back at Prado Dairy and Rhett preparing to return means the family can continue fulfilling the dream Mark built with them and for them.
Mark loved Colorado, and he loved milking cows here. Now, with one son leading Prado Dairy and another preparing to come home, the Vander Dussens are carrying his vision forward for the generations still to come.