 In 1871, he joined the staff of the "Utica Morning Herald", a champion of the state's cheese industry.This position led to his election as the secretary of the New York Dairymen's Association (1871) and as president of the Utica Dairymen's Board of Trade (1873).His expertise in matters pertaining to the dairy industry was such that in 1874 and 1875 he was chosen to speak to state dairymen's conventions from New England to the Midwest.