Investments

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2022

Investments consist of the following:


(in thousands)	December 31, 2022		December 31, 2021
SERP investments at fair value	$	1,889	$	2,317
Cost method investments	10,749		11,004
Equity method investments	333		340
Total investments	$	12,971	$	13,661

SERP investments at fair value: The fair value of the SERP investments are based on unadjusted quoted prices in active markets and are classified as Level 1 of the fair value hierarchy. Changes to the investments' fair value are presented in Other income (expense), while the reciprocal changes in the liability are presented in selling, general and administrative expense. At December 31, 2021, $0.8 million of SERP investments were presented as prepaid expenses and other (current assets). Those investments were liquidated in July 2022 to pay the current portion of our SERP obligation.

Cost method investments: Our investment in CoBank’s Class A common stock, derived from the CoBank patronage program, represented substantially all of our cost method investments with a balance of $10.0 million and $10.3 million at December 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively. We recognized approximately $70.7 thousand, $2.0 million and $4.2 million of patronage income in other income (expense) in 2022, 2021 and 2020, respectively. Historically, approximately 75% of the patronage distributions were collected in cash and 25% in equity.

Equity method investments: At December 31, 2022, the Company had a 20.0% ownership interest in Valley Network Partnership (“ValleyNet”). The Company and ValleyNet purchase capacity on one another’s fiber network through related party transactions. We recognized revenue of $0.7 million, $0.7 million, and $0.9 million from providing service to ValleyNet during 2022, 2021, and 2020, respectively. We recognized cost of service of $0.1 million, $1.2 million, and $2.7 million for the use of ValleyNet’s network during 2022, 2021, and 2020, respectively.