[5]: 12 The Burlina was one of the most numerous breeds present in north-eastern Italy in the early 20th century, numbering tens of thousands of head.
Until the 1930s, it was the commonest dairy breed on the Altopiano di Asiago, in the Colli Berici, on Monte Grappa and in the Monti Lessini.
The Burlina cow has a milk yield comparable to that of other Italian Alpine breeds, and about half that of a Friesian.
It is longer-lived and more fertile,[4]: 144 and, because of its smaller size, requires less food; it can exploit poor and fragile mountain pastures.
[9][10] The traditional management system is transhumant – the cattle range freely on high alpine pasture during the summer and are brought down to pass the winter in byres where they are fed mostly on hay, with a minimum of concentrated feed.