Milling wheat growers are set to miss out on a variety with the highest untreated yield this coming autumn, as Cheer undergoes further testing for breadmaking quality.

Cheer, bred by Syngenta, provisionally joined the AHDB Recommended List last December, as a Group 1 milling variety.

The variety was a welcome addition to the group, the first in six years.

Its good disease ratings offered growers another option, with the highest untreated yield in Group 1a, at 84%.

See also: New wheat and barley varieties rejuvenate Recommended Lists

However, its Group 1 rating was subject to passing breadmaking trials, with confirmation expected this spring. UK Flour Millers has now confirmed that more time is needed.

Its head of technical and regulatory affairs, Joe Brennan, said: “While it is disappointing, we cannot confirm the full status of this variety sooner.”

However, he pointed out that this approach is not without precedent.

“Skyfall had to undergo the same raft of additional testing and as we all know, it emerged to become the most popular Group 1 variety for a number of years.”

The AHDB is providing additional samples from its Recommended List trials and it is hoped that testing will be completed before the publication of the next Recommended List in late 2024.

There have been no new additions to Group 1 milling wheats since Zyatt in 2017 and this delay means it will be at least 2025 before farmers can potentially grow Cheer with a Group 1 milling contract.