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The Ferguson Tree Centre outside of Kemptville will have to destroy more than three million trees because of the provincial government’s cancellation of the 50 Million Tree Program, the company’s chief executive said Friday.

Ed Patchell said the trees were planted to handle the nursery’s commitment to the program over the next three years. But with the Ford government’s decision last month to axe the tree program, the centre will be forced to dispose of them.

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Farmed trees can only be kept for a certain period of time — once they grow to a certain size or age they become unmanageable, he said.

“But also, you can’t go and spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on maintaining something that you don’t have a client for,” Patchell added.

The government’s tree program represented about 40 per cent of the annual revenue to the non-profit nursery, which uses its returns to promote good forestry, conservation and recreation in North Grenville, he said.