A harvesting apparatus for an agricultural machine, the harvesting apparatus comprising: a frame; a cutting mechanism coupled to the frame and operable to cut crop material; a crop conditioning element coupled to the frame; a hood moveable relative to the crop conditioning element, the hood including a first lift connection and a second lift connection; an actuating system moveably connecting the hood to the frame, the actuating system including: a driven lever arm rotatably attached to the frame for rotation about a lever rotation axis, the driven lever arm including a first lever connection and a second lever connection positioned opposite each other across the lever rotation axis; a first pivot assembly rotatably attached to the frame for rotation about a first pivot axis, the first pivot assembly including a first pivot connection coupled to the first lever connection of the driven lever arm and a second pivot connection coupled to the first lift connection of the hood; and a second pivot assembly rotatably attached to the frame for rotation about a second pivot axis, the second pivot assembly including a third pivot connection coupled to the second lever connection of the driven lever arm and a fourth pivot connection coupled to the second lift location of the hood, and the harvesting apparatus further comprising an actuator coupled to the driven lever arm and operable to rotate the driven lever arm in at least one of a first rotational direction or a second rotational direction, characterized in that the harvesting apparatus further comprises a third link interconnecting the second pivot connection of the first pivot assembly and the first lift connection of the hood. a frame; a cutting mechanism coupled to the frame and operable to cut crop material; a crop conditioning element coupled to the frame; a hood moveable relative to the crop conditioning element, the hood including a first lift connection and a second lift connection; an actuating system moveably connecting the hood to the frame, the actuating system including: a driven lever arm rotatably attached to the frame for rotation about a lever rotation axis, the driven lever arm including a first lever connection and a second lever connection positioned opposite each other across the lever rotation axis; a first pivot assembly rotatably attached to the frame for rotation about a first pivot axis, the first pivot assembly including a first pivot connection coupled to the first lever connection of the driven lever arm and a second pivot connection coupled to the first lift connection of the hood; and a second pivot assembly rotatably attached to the frame for rotation about a second pivot axis, the second pivot assembly including a third pivot connection coupled to the second lever connection of the driven lever arm and a fourth pivot connection coupled to the second lift location of the hood, and the harvesting apparatus further comprising an actuator coupled to the driven lever arm and operable to rotate the driven lever arm in at least one of a first rotational direction or a second rotational direction, characterized in that the harvesting apparatus further comprises a third link interconnecting the second pivot connection of the first pivot assembly and the first lift connection of the hood. a driven lever arm rotatably attached to the frame for rotation about a lever rotation axis, the driven lever arm including a first lever connection and a second lever connection positioned opposite each other across the lever rotation axis; a first pivot assembly rotatably attached to the frame for rotation about a first pivot axis, the first pivot assembly including a first pivot connection coupled to the first lever connection of the driven lever arm and a second pivot connection coupled to the first lift connection of the hood; and a second pivot assembly rotatably attached to the frame for rotation about a second pivot axis, the second pivot assembly including a third pivot connection coupled to the second lever connection of the driven lever arm and a fourth pivot connection coupled to the second lift location of the hood, and the harvesting apparatus further comprising an actuator coupled to the driven lever arm and operable to rotate the driven lever arm in at least one of a first rotational direction or a second rotational direction, characterized in that the harvesting apparatus further comprises a third link interconnecting the second pivot connection of the first pivot assembly and the first lift connection of the hood.