Hi ycanchu2,
I considered the time to break down the materials, and figured the time it sits cost me nothing, especially considering the cost of importing soil in my area. I have checked it a couple times, including last night the temp is always hot inside from 6 inches down, which should be a good sign. We are adding manure and green to the mix, too. And its great, the cows spend so much time standing on it, they are like built in manure depositors...or something like that. lol.
We will be getting another 13-16 loads soon, which we will start a new pile with, adding more bedding and manure to this new, future, pile. We do use all our old hay and bedding now, of course, and are always looking for neighbors who have it for free to give. Our largest problem is moving it, since we have yet to acquire a tractor since we bought the place. Its a daily search, but it will be a few months still.
As for the size of chips, this guy is great. I am not kidding. He gave me two loads of med/small chips, then, he called me and said "im sorry man, those chips were a little larger than most guys like, so I put new blades on and told my guys to chip slower". True to his word, the rest of the piles are so fine we couldn't even use the wood parts a mulch on trees and such. There are of course some larger parts, but mostly its a nice small chip. The cows have taken care of the palm frans which is great, because they take forever to break down. They brown well, but they are so fibrous.
Well, we shall see how it all goes over the next 8 months.