Soybeans to annual rye to alfalfa... need recommendation on tillage option

First time poster on this board.

 

I purchased 84ac in Lexington KY area a year ago, and have been working on the land since. It has been soybeans/corn for quite a while, with a history of tobacco at some point. The last 2 years have been soybeans and this year I just put it into annual rye to hold the soil in place with intentions of putting it into permanent horse pasture and hay.

 

I have 20ac which I will be putting into alfalfa/orchard grass and 10 ac into straight Timothy. The rest of the farm will be put into Bluegrass/orchard/non-endophyte fescue for permanent pasture. The land has some mild hills, but overall, it does drop more than 10-20ft over the whole place.

 

I have a JD5100e (100hp)

 

I put in the annual rye with a 10' Haybuster no-till which worked very well, but the ground is a bit rough, not horrible, but I'd like to get it in as good of shape as possible prior to putting in hay.

 

I have access to a light 8' disc... which I had intended to work the ground up then cultimulch it (14' cultimulcher) However, the disc is so light, it just skims the top, and really doesn't cut enough to make it worthwhile or take out many of the bumps. So now I'm in a pickle.

 

Given I don't have a lot of time before seed needs to be in the ground and my ability to work is relegated to weekends and Mondays, I need to get something which will work this ground well. I really don't want to purchase it... because it will be a one time use until several years down the road, however it appears I have no options. So I am trying to decide what would work this field into the best shape in order to get the best stand I can.

 

I've thought about a field cultivator and there are 2 on auction this week. 14 and 15' one with sweeps the other with points. There is also a couple chisels around, but I haven't used a chisel in 30yrs, and don't know if my 100hp tractor can handle much of one or if it is even the right thing to use.

 

I still am unsure of whether I should purchase a Brillion seeder (12') to put in the stand. That, at least, I can see holding its value and being useful to me and my neighbors in the future. But I have access to No-till drills from my County Extension for much less cost.

 

I'm at a loss and feel like I'm behind the 8-ball. And I'd like your thoughts. Given my situation and limited budget and time... is there a piece of tillage equipment that you would recommend to smooth this place out so I can pull my cultimulcher and then plant? What would you do in my position? (I've even thought of just buying sweeps and putting them on the cultimulcher and using it as my tillage tool then pick them up and roll it down. But I haven't seen ANYONE talk about doing that before. The straight teeth are too far apart to use alone, I think I'd have to have sweeps to make any reasonable progress. I tried it in 2 directions and I had some pretty bad undisturbed ridging/diamonds which really didn't look like a good seedbed.)

 

 

Soybeans to annual rye to alfalfa... need recommendation on tillage option