Whole cones, pellets and extracts are separate hop products
The USDA inspection handbook defines hops as the cones of cultivated hop varieties and sets procedures for sampled cone lots. Pelletizing, concentration and extraction change product identity, units, storage behavior and analytical requirements. A cone inspection result therefore cannot be silently transferred to pellets or extracts. Atlas keeps variety or blend, crop year, physical form, processing basis and intended use attached to every comparison.
Current U.S. crop evidence is dated and production-specific
USDA NASS estimated U.S. 2025 hop production at 83.1 million pounds from 41,654 harvested acres, with an average yield of 1,996 pounds per acre and production value of $447 million. Production was 5 percent below 2024 and harvested area was 7 percent lower. Those national estimates describe crop scale and direction; they do not prove current stocks, variety availability, contract volume, lot chemistry or delivered economics.
Official inspection evidence remains tied to the sampled lot
The USDA AMS/FGIS handbook treats a lot as an identified amount offered for inspection and requires separate inspection when portions are distinctly different in quality or condition. Its analytical workflow uses approximately 90 grams for leaf-and-stem analysis and 45 grams for seed analysis, with results derived from representative portions. Commercial contracts may also require moisture, alpha acids, beta acids, hop-storage index, oil profile, contaminants and residues; each result needs its own sample, method, laboratory and date.
Crop totals and benchmark signals are not a physical hops price
A current physical comparison needs exact variety or blend, crop year, origin, whole-cone, pellet or extract form, analytical specifications and methods, condition, package, storage and treatment evidence, lot quantity, currency, Incoterm, destination, delivery window, freight and information vintage. Atlas keeps any futures, index or benchmark signal separate and withholds an unsupported physical-price result when permitted current lot and route observations are missing.