I own a 160 acre farm in east Texas. My advice would be to sell whatever timber you don’t want by contacting a timber company or agent and tell them you want it “thinned.” This will make it easier to get rid of the other underbrush you don’t want by mowing and under burning.
don’t seed with rye if you expect to have any livestock or if you have neighbors with livestock. They won’t appreciate the seed spreading on the wind - at all. see: rye staggers
also, you might want to invest in a pair of snakeguards for your legs. No telling what critters are hiding in the tall weeds/downed logs.
goats are the best bet but males will challenge fences more aggressively and keep you busy. And, you’ll need to walk your land looking carefully for plants poisonous to goats (including those ‘rich’ in copper which is lethal to goats and sheep) before you contract to have them brought over. You’ll also need to work out with the goat tender whether he’ll pick them up every night or whether you need to shelter them securely each night, meaning to supplemental feed, water, securely shelter and keep free from predators. Each goat is worth a couple hundred dollars, so you don’t want any dead ones on your watch.
If you use vinegar as a weedicide, use the 20% agricultural vinegar not supermarket 2% or 5% vinegar, which won’t work. Lastly, burying the debris over burning is usually best. Dig a big hole, throw in a good helping of ag lime and pile the dirt over and in a year or two when the hill has subsided you’ll have a perfect garden spot with better water retaining capacity than sand.
bump
We used to bulldoze a pit and push the brush into it. Pack with the dozer and cover with dirt.