In an audit released today, state Auditor Susan Montee found a wide variety of compliance issues with the Missouri Department of Agriculture, from failure to monitor millions of dollars worth of grants to failure to enforce violations in the petroleum device safety inspection program.

“From prospering puppy mills to illegal lawsuit settlements, the Missouri Department of Agriculture let us down time and again,” Montee said in a printed statement. “This is a department in need of serious help.”

Among her key findings:

*The department tried to avoid public disclosure of an embarrassing settlement of a sexual harrassment claim brought against former director Fred Ferrell by settling it with a federal account rather than using the state’s legal fund.

*The department passed out federal odor abatement grants without complying with the terms of the grants.

*The department falls woefully short of its inspection duties of licensed animal care facilities, such as puppy mills.

*The department hasn’t conducted audits of ethanol and biodiesel producers to make sure the millions of dollars in incentive payments are being made properly.

*The department does perform inspections on petroleum devices, but when it finds violations, does nothing to remediate the problems.

“If they do find equipment that doesn’t comply, they’re not doing anything,” Montee said this morning at a news conference. “Why do the inspections if you’re not going to follow up?”

In response to the audit’s criticism, the department agreed with some of the findings, and blamed budget problems for some of the issues.

“They are spread pretty thin,” Montee said of the department.

Read the full audit here.