The Haxtun-Fleming Herald - What can we reason but from what we know? -Alexander Pope

We take pride, here on the Hodgson Ranch, in staying as old fashioned as possible. Our cattle are gathered and worked horseback, no four wheelers or other motorized devices allowed. In spite of our best intentions, we also have to own a few pieces of machinery.

Even then we try to adhere to doing things like grandpa did by buying about the same vintage of equipment he used. Admittedly, that is more about economics than nostalgia. We would love to buy new stuff but the only machinery we can afford is old. Some have suggested we operate an outdoor museum. Our equipment line is old and it works. Not everyone is impressed with our operable antiques. In fact, when I do our annual financial statement for our banker, a few problems show up. First on our fairly long list of functioning relics might be a 1958 Ford tractor I value at $1,500. My banker usually stops at that first item, crosses out the machinery description and writes in “total of everything on the place.”

Each year, just to annoy him, like he needs anymore annoyance from me, I increase the value of each item on the list.

Bankers and bookkeepers call this “appreciation” which I’m told means something increases in value. I like that word because I “appreciate” every piece of old machinery we own. Their consistent operation is critical to our survival. Silly as it many sound, at the end of each haying season I thank our old New Holland 276 small square baler for its reliability throughout the summer as I back it under the shed where it will wait patiently for next year’s crop to need it’s services. The rest of our rusty old line of machinery gets the same treatment. I appreciate them all.

The opposite of appreciation is “depreciation," I'm reminded each year by my bank. Whether a machine works properly or not I am supposed to deduct something from its value. Here’s the problem with that idea. My 1958 Ford tractor was purchased new by my father’s uncle for $1,500. Over what, to date, is it’s 63 years of service, what should I remove from its value? When I divided $1,500 by 63 years, an annual deduction of 23 dollars come up. It raked about $13,000 of hay and in earlier years, maybe $40,000 and also baled the same value of hay. Even $26,000 divided by 63 years tells me its value should go up $412 per year. Deduct the $23 yearly depreciation and the tractor today is worth $1,051,551.

The entire time I have been diligently working on valuing our line of working antiques, the bank has been lowering my machinery inventory values as part of they're “making our books look good” program thereby eliminating the need for me to put values on anything. I am going to do it once again this year and for years to come because you just have to “appreciate” how nice our lives are to be surrounded by such helpful machines. Also, to make Mr. Banker’s job easier I’m just going to write, under his heading of “Total Machinery Value,” $12.34. Hope he “appreciates” my new bookkeeping skills.