[Farmwithjunk]

First step is the soil test. I'd also contact local Soil and Water District/County Extention Agent for their localized recommendations. Those folks are mucho helpful around here anyway.

To deal with simular problems here, it's usually best to start over. Deep rip/subsoil/chisel plow to break up compaction. Then work FIRM level seedbed and seed. Some folks opt for chemical burndown (round-up) and no-till re-seed directly in to old sod, letting nature run her course to reduce compaction. (freeze/thaw "heaving" action, and earthworms) Over the years, I've seen a lot of people have a lot of success by mowing the pasture as short as they can, discing once or twice, then broadcast seeding, finally running a cultipacker over everything. Grass seed needs soil contact, firm seedbed, sunlight, and water. Not knowing if it's commonly grown in your area, consider adding some (to quite a bit) of alfalfa to your seed mix. It improves soil structure. Nature will deal with the compaction in time. Your part would then be to reduce or eliminate future compaction.