At a national level in the Netherlands, Denmark and Germany, a shift is taking place from grassland to crops, such as flower bulbs and edible crops. The surface area of grassland keeps declining. This development is also occurring in the wadden region, although there are some local differences. In the Danish coastal areas, between 60 and 82% of the agrarian land is used for growing crops. In Schleswig-Holstein and Niedersachsen, the figures are 52% crops and 55% permanent grassland. The ground use along the Dutch coast varies. Crops dominate in Groningen, while Friesland has more grassland and North-Holland is 50-50.
Grassland is the most dominant on the islands. Only the larger islands (such as Texel, Nordstrand and Rømø) have any notable amount of arable farming. In general, one can say that the fertile clay soils along the wadden dike are mostly used for growing crops, while the sand grounds and less suitable, damp or outer dike lands are mostly used as grassland (grazing).
