In about 1855 or 1857, Budd traveled to
Rockford, Illinois, where he became the principal of Rockford Academy. He purchased farmland in
Benton County, Iowa, in 1858 and started the Benton County Orchards, where he grew about 200 acres of fruit trees. With the help of agents, Budd marketed his fruit to highly populated parts of Iowa. He co-founded the Iowa State Horticultural Society, of which he was its secretary for almost all years spanning from 1873 to 1896. During his tenure as secretary, he wrote "Orcharding in the Open Prairies of Northern Iowa" for the society's first volume of proceedings, earned first place on
Iowa State Fair horticultural exhibits in 1874, and became an honorary member of the
American Pomological Society along with other similar societies. In 1877, Budd was hired by the Iowa Agricultural College, where he was a professor of horticulture and head of the Horticulture Department until 1898. While working as a professor, Budd introduced varieties of fruits, trees, and shrubs. Other positions Budd held were as a temporary president of
Iowa State College and a horticulturist at an Experimental Station. Budd resigned from being a professor in 1899, after which he became a professor
emeritus. ==Experiments and publications==