A Reliable Waterway System Is Important to Agriculture describes the importance of marine transportation to fiscal 2013 agricultural exports, forecast at $142 billion. Agriculture will provide a $29.5 billion trade surplus to the American economy, with imports forecast at $112.5 billion. Forestry and fishery products, and critical farm inputs such as fertilizer, feed, and fuel move on the waterway system as well. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack noted that every $1 billion in farm exports supports roughly 8,400 jobs in the United States.