Jezreel Valley Farm

Brand new garden area - once a cultivated farm field for about 180 years. Made a very small trench, placed potato in and covered with about 1 inch of soil.  Place LOADS of wood chips over it once.  Kept most of the weed pulled.  Everything above ground looks wonderful.  We'll have to wait a few more weeks to see what the below ground looks like.  I believe I could rake/hoe most of the wood chips out and pull back over the potatoes next year and maybe add some more.

I'm jealous of everyone who is able to get wood chips.  I have filled out for the chip drop, submitted the correct paperwork to the city, county, and utilities to get their chips, and contacted all tree services in my area that how chippers.  So many people out there want chips they are now going for up to $200 a truck load and the waiting list is about 2 months long or the companies don't have a list as they have customers who take all they have constantly.  

I enjoy watching/listening to various trainings that talk about use of wood chips, but my only options in NW Missouri is to either rent one and take down trees on my farm (plenty of trees - it just takes a lot of time to remove the tree, chip it up and then move the chips to where I need them) or to purchase my own chipper.  I am leaning on purchase of a chipper.

Any recommendations would be greatly appriciated.

EDIT
I will add - I have 87 acres.  About 25 tillable and a small lawn where the house is it.  In the past three years we have rented a forestry mulcher and removed thousands of small trees.  I'm looking for enough mulch for just this year to cover about 3/4 acre garden and 2 acres of orchard/berry patches.  Next year I will need about the same.  We have a LOAD of large thorny locust and Osage orange which are both very difficult to chip.  I believe I will need to purchase a chipper as free wood chips are currently a thing of the past.