A milking parlor (10) has a platform (12) receiving cows and having a plurality of spaced stall dividers (24) defining milking stalls therebetween, each stall divider having a milking cluster including a claw and teat cups. A cluster drop and lift retractor, provided by a detacher cylinder, raises the cluster to an up position above the platform ready for attachment of the teat cups to the teats of a cow in a respective stall, and lowers the cluster to a down position below the platform after detachment of the teat cups from the teats of the cow. A cluster pre-lift control and sequence actuates the retractor to raise the cluster to the up position prior to milking such that when the dairyman operator is ready to milk the cow, the milking cluster is already in the up ready for attachment operator having to bend down to lift the milking cluster from the down position.
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