The last confirmed sighting of 65-year-old Richard Wills was of him leaving home in Ouyen, near the South Australian border, on Sunday.
Two days after failing to come home, his body was discovered on Tuesday.
Police say Mr Wills went to work on his rural property on Victoria's Mallee Highway about 8am as part of his normal routine.
However, he was a no-show for lunch, prompting family members to scour the 650-hectare share-cropping and livestock farm to no avail.
His wife of 32 years, Donna, reported him missing on Monday morning when he still hadn't returned.
Mr Wills' body was found in a police search about 1.30 pm the following afternoon. He had been fatally shot.
Mrs Wills said on Saturday her kind-hearted, workaholic husband was up, had eaten breakfast and left the house while she was still in bed.
"He just kissed me goodbye. I thought I'd see him at lunchtime," she told reporters during an appeal for information at Ouyen.
When he had not returned that night, she thought he might have gone driving with a mate and they had broken down or had a flat tyre.
"Why would they want to do it to him?" she said.
Detective Senior Sergeant Steve Trewavas of the force's Missing Persons Squad said Mr Wills had clearly met with foul play and there was evidence suggesting he had been dragged behind a vehicle.
"What is still unclear is exactly who was involved and why. This is a vicious killing," he said.
It is suspected Mr Wills knew the person who killed him.Â
Anyone who saw the father-of-five on April 5 or has information concerning his death is being urged to come forward.
Victorian detectives have meanwhile charged a man with murder over what they believe was a targeted shooting at an apartment tower.
A 32-year-old man died early on Thursday after an alleged altercation at the building at Box Hill in Melbourne's east.
On Thursday evening, a 47-year-old man was arrested and charged with one count of murder.
Another 47-year-old man and a 27-year-old woman were also arrested and released pending further inquiries.
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