The farmer points out the kangaroo grass scattered throughout the paddock, and in the distance you can see patches of the orange native that once dominated this landscape.
Massey is a third generation farmer; his grandfather purchased the land in the 1920s and Charles took over from his father 40 years ago after he had a heart attack.
Around the world grasslands act as carbon sinks, their deep roots keep the soil intact and lock away huge amounts of carbon.
“Overgrazing, poor management, ploughing and everything has destroyed all that.
It provides more productive soil for growing and pasture, while also helping suck carbon out of the atmosphere, a process known as carbon sequestration.
Conversely, improving ground cover boosts that ability, so farmers are being paid to change the way they farm through the Emissions Reduction Fund.
And it’s recently been announced that carbon farmers themselves will receive a tax break from the federal government, and the tax concessions are estimated to be worth $100 million over four years.
Rodney Royds is one of these farmers.
“The most important thing to do is increase the productivity of your country, which means that you’re growing more biomass.
Mr Royds’ project, like most, is funded in part by carbon aggregators, companies that help farmers navigate the red tape and trade the carbon credits.
Mr Royds farm is changing, but he hasn’t earnt any carbon credits yet, saying that “in the next year or two, I’ll hopefully get some benefits there.
“There’s a big risk of misleading both the farming community but also those in cities that are interested in our environment and in mitigating climate change.
Measuring soil is hard and it takes time to collect samples and analyse them in a lab, and the framework that gets people paid is a meticulous process that requires you to prove an increase in carbon.
So it’s probably being a little bit over simplified by some of the carbon aggregators.
There are also concerns that the system doesn’t work and that people are getting paid for junk credits.
“Recent droughts, bushfires, massive wet seasons like this make management very hard.