Perhaps as a shortterm prospect, you could concentrate on eradicating weeds and laying some kind of organic mulch down over the area to prevent the weeds from springing up and also feed the ground. I'm thinking along the lines of hay, pea straw or lucerne (not sure how much that might cost but out in the country you should be able to get a large amount pretty cheaply of something that will rot down over that time. Just concentrate a while on getting on top of the weeds. Then when you're ready you can concentrate on preparing the soil and planting grass (if you decide to go that way) without weed competition. Or you might find that having a mulched space and putting in a few trees or garden beds works better than grass.