Investments

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2021

Investments consist of the following:


(in thousands)	December 31, 2021		December 31, 2020
SERP Investments at fair value	$	2,317	$	2,687
Cost method investments	11,004		10,536
Equity method investments	340		546
Total investments	$	13,661	$	13,769

SERP Investments at fair value: The Company holds the SERP investments in a rabbi trust as a source of funding for future payments under the plan. The SERP’s investments were designated as trading securities and will be liquidated and paid out to the participants six months after retirement. The benefit obligation to participants is always equal to the value of the SERP assets under ASC 710, Compensation.

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 $10.3 million and $9.8 million at December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively. We recognized approximately $2.0 million, $4.2 million and $4.2 million of patronage income in Other income (expense) in 2021, 2020 and 2019, respectively. Historically, approximately 75% of the patronage distributions were collected in cash and 25% in equity.

Equity Method Investments: At December 31, 2021, 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. We recognized revenue of $0.7 million, $0.9 million, and $1.0 million from providing service to ValleyNet during 2021, 2020, and 2019, respectively. We recognized cost of service of $1.2 million, $2.7 million, and $3.0 million for the use of ValleyNet’s network during 2021, 2020, and 2019, respectively.