Well, I was replying based on the corn head spreadsheet, and now I see that I misread your username and confused you and the poster of the spreadsheet so that's my mistake.    Yes, of course there are combines involved, too, and some downtime seems to be inevitable with them.  Most of our downtime this year has been  mud related....I don't remember ever cutting in mud without tearing stuff up.  I would suggest that more used equipment also can make harvest go quicker then less new equipment. 

Last year we had the 2nd worst corn we have ever grown.  This year we had the best corn we have ever grown.  I don't really think we did anything wrong last year, nor did we do anything magnificently "right" this year, it's just how the cards fell.  Making good decisions and being "smart" is always in your favor, but the reality is that there is a lot in this business which is out of your control.   At least there is out here in marginal country.   The thing that seems to matter most is being able to get up every day and make the most of what is in front of you.