Mr Mitchell, 52, was trampled by a bull on his Fidge Rd farm on Monday, March 28.
He was drafting the beef cattle with another person when the cattle bumped or pushed a swinging gate, which knocked him off his feet before the bull attacked him, about 11.30am.
Emergency services attended the farm but Mr Mitchell could not be saved.
Mr Mitchell’s family talked to Country News about their loss and what had happened, in the hope it would raise awareness of the dangers of working with stock.
The bull was known to be potentially dangerous but nothing of this nature had happened previously.
Mr Mitchell was a born and bred Undera man, a second generation farmer who, with his wife Kristie, raised three boys — Jarrod, Nathan and Lloyd — on their Fidge Rd property.
He enjoyed playing football with the Undera club for a number of years and after his on-field retirement could often be seen helping out at the club.
About 2016 he decided to get out of dairying, but his love for dairy cows and milking drew him back. He leased his father-in-law’s farm just a short distance away.
His farm always had working dogs, and he became so attached to his canine workers that when Country News approached him in 2008 to feature in Man’s Best Friend he uncharacteristically agreed to be in the paper because he liked the idea of a page devoted to dogs.
Mr Mitchell made friends easily, and would visit neighbours and friends several times a week, and when the pace of farm work allowed.
The sons and their partners have been supporting Mrs Mitchell and helping run the 230ha farm. On the night of the accident, there were eight people working in the dairy to get the milking done, and there has been a steady stream of offers and physical help from friends.
“That’s very much an Undera thing,” a grateful Mrs Mitchell said.
A funeral service for Mr Mitchell will be held at the Merritt Funeral Services chapel in Mooroopna on Friday, April 8 at 11am, after which the cortege will leave for the Mooroopna Cemetery.
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