I never tear up an existing sod or anything for that matter.  The strip pictured above was soybeans in 2012.  I did soil tests and applied lime in the fall of 2012. Applied 0-0-60 and DAP to the soil test  plus a little (50 lb?) urea to the bean ground in the spring. I ran the Aerway over it then no till drilled oats in the large seed box and a blend of two pasture mixes pictured below in the spring of 2013. It has not been seeded since.

On existing pastures that need renovation I let the cows graze it down low or mow it low in the spring then no till drill the same two mixes along with some persistent red clover seed and drag the strip.  The key to good pastures around here is getting the pH up in the 6.5-7 range plus having sufficient K if its been used for removed hay or crops previously.

The idea of mixes is to always have something growing on it and a mix of legumes fixing nitrogen and grasses using it. When you add manure dragged around and rained in for a couple years on an intensively grazed pasture the soil biology really gets going! The different species all feed off of each other.

Early on the cool season grasses dominate as shown in the pics above, later on as the weather warms the clovers become more dominant.

These mixes from the LaCrosse Seed & Turf are sold by my local feed store.  I can't tell you which is the Italian rye but it's in there somewhere!

edit to add: Timjohn, I see you are in Fredonia, over near Lake Michigan, near Sheboygan. That is a whole different world over there on Wisconsin's east coast! I'm over in the driftless area on the west (Mississippi River) coast. Soils, topography, Lake climate, etc very different. 

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