Universe of Minnesota Extension office put out a Woodlot management book that became the website in the video I posted. reading that book has changed my approach to so much of what I’m doing right now in the yard. And in the end as well, it’s saving me a TON of work and money. I’ll post a comparison video some time soon of what it looked like in fall of ‘22 when we bought the place versus now. And I’ve only mowed it 5 times with a brush hawg. weed control too. Yard isn't drying out it seems as much either. lot of folks have made comments that have gotten back to me how much nicer it looks driving by. ETA - One aspect that is often overlooked... Changing your wood lot can make huge impacts not just to the ground cover, but the canopy as well. The ecosystem is huge just in that one little part of the world. Changing from underbrush can totally change your wildlife as well. From a deer woods to a squirrel woods etc. Changing the trees can impact all of this as well. So for me, I am trying to impact the wildlife as little as possible, but I know I've moved deer off the land that used to have it as a safe haven.
It all depends on how big of material you plan on chipping, and how much per session. Smaller chippers are most definitely going to disappoint you. I do have a older Toro Tomahawk chipper/shredder I use pretty much exclusively for making chips for the smoker out of smaller splits. I definitely wouldn't want to try and use that to process any amount of limbs for any length of time. I also had a old Royer disc chipper powered by a old Wisconsin air-cooled 4 cylinder (VG4D), it was all I could afford at the time and although it'd do 6-8" diameter wood, it wasn't a self feeder and it was very hard on your hands and body. I now have a Morbark Cyclone 8 self-feeding chipper that does very well (up to 8" diameter) but it's underpowered (Kohler Command 27hp v-twin). I'm in the process of upgrading that powerplant to another Wisconsin VG4D. I personally like that engine because it's air-cooled and very reliable/easy to maintain. There are lots of old "chuck-n-duck" chippers out there that'd probably do what you want them to (cheaply) but they can be dangerous to use. I see them for sale on FB Marketplace all the time in the 2500-4500 dollar range. But you might wanna look at the cons of them and some Youtube vids before buying so you know exactly what to expect prior to committing to one
