A windrow merger lift mechanism having on a pair of rotational axes, skewed with respect to each other, to manipulate a merger apparatus between working and non-working positions. When the merger apparatus is in a first, or working position, the lift mechanism positions it to receive crop material from the conditioner rolls with minimal losses. When the merger apparatus is in a second, or non-working position, the lift mechanism positions the merger apparatus to allow crop material to be discharged from the header/conditioner with the same efficiency as a windrower having no installed merger attachment. The skewed axes of the merger lift mechanism optimize the merger position in both the working and non-working positions by moving the merger apparatus in four distinct, but related degrees of motion as the merger apparatus is moved between the positions.