I believe that the commercial growers, both medical and recreational, do weigh the cost/benefit of letting a plant go past a certain age. Because the commercial growers in the legal states are having a very hard time keeping up with demand, the decision to take at the earliest maturation would make good financial reason. Us, as personal consumpton growers, want the biggest, most potent harvest regardless to having to patiently wait while mother nature does her thing. It's my understanding that amber trichs are caused by decompision of thc, so the first amber I see is my trigger to only give PHed water. Usually in a week or so most of the leaves have yellowed and I chop when I have no clears left. Works for my personal preference.